KOR
DANIELLE, a former member of the girl group NewJeans, and ADOR have expressed starkly opposing views over her independent activities, which could constitute a breach of contract, during the second hearing of a 33 billion won damages lawsuit.
On June 11, only the legal representatives of both sides attended the second hearing of the damages lawsuit filed by ADOR against DANIELLE, her family, and former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin, held at the Civil Agreement Division 31 of the Seoul Central District Court (presided over by Senior Judge Nam In-soo).
During the hearing, ADOR claimed that DANIELLE pursued collaborations with overseas artists and participated in brand photo shoots without going through the agency. In particular, ADOR pointed out that DANIELLE's side attempted to push forward with a collaboration with the American band Emotional Oranges despite the court's injunction decision.
In response, DANIELLE's side countered, "These actions took place under the belief that the contract had been legally terminated. There were no advertising contracts or financial gains. ADOR is excessively exaggerating certain matters."
They also pushed back against ADOR's claim that DANIELLE "is free to engage in entertainment activities," arguing, "With a lawsuit seeking tens of billions of won in damages underway, what agency would be able to recruit DANIELLE? This is practically no different from fundamentally blocking her entertainment activities."
DANIELLE's side further argued, "The NewJeans members acted together under the belief that the termination of their exclusive contract was justified, and they had received legal advice. What ADOR demanded was not future cooperation, but corrective measures for past actions that had already occurred. Demanding that DANIELLE alone correct something that all members did together is a physically impossible demand."
On the other hand, ADOR argued, "Even if it was an issue that occurred in the past, cooperation was needed on how to restore the damaged relationship of trust and the decline in the company's credibility. The defendants showed an attitude back then, just as they do now, that there was nothing wrong."
ADOR notified DANIELLE of the termination of her exclusive contract in December of last year and subsequently filed a damages lawsuit against DANIELLE, her family, and former CEO Min Hee-jin. The initial claim amount was approximately 43.1 billion won, but it was recently adjusted to 33.09 billion won.
Meanwhile, the NewJeans members declared the termination of their exclusive contracts with ADOR in November of last year but later lost the first-instance trial in the lawsuit seeking confirmation of the validity of their exclusive contracts. Currently, HAERIN, HYEIN, and HANNI have returned to ADOR, while MINJI is reportedly in discussions regarding her return.
Photo = Reporter Baek Seung-chul
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)