New Jeans, self-destructive reader...Will 600 Billion Penalty Pay or Return to Door?
Jun 18, 2025
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On the 17th, the Seoul High Court's Civil Affairs Department 25-2 (Chief Judge Hwang Byung-ha, Jung Jong-kwan, Lee Kyun-yong) rejected the Newzins members' appeal against the ban on preserving agency status and signing advertising contracts.
In November last year, Newzins began its own activities, saying that the exclusive contract was terminated due to the violation of the contract by its agency, Adore. They changed their team name to NJZ, took a photo shoot, and participated in the Hong Kong Complex Con.
In response, Adore filed an injunction against the members, including a lawsuit to verify the validity of the exclusive contract, preserving the status of an agency, and signing an advertising contract. The court accepted Odor's request for a provisional injunction. The members of the New Jeans immediately filed an objection, but the court rejected it, and appealed again, but was dismissed again.
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The court said "Former CEO Min was dissatisfied with the content of the inter-shareholder contract from around 2023 and demanded a correction, while taking Newzyns out of Hive's control or seeking ways to independently control Adore." Min pointed out that he is only in a position to destroy the foundation of the integrated structure of the adore and members who have achieved great results.
Regarding the claim that Hive ousted former CEO Min and the trust relationship broke down, he judged that the trust relationship cannot be considered broken due to the members' insistence on recruiting a Newzins producer at a time when former CEO Min refused to produce.
He also rejected all allegations that ILLIT plagiarized Newzins and that he heard ILLIT's agency Billifrap manager say 'Ignore Hani'.
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The court said "If Newzins members voluntarily leave the exclusive contract and engage in independent entertainment activities, they will be able to virtually monopolize all of their performances, but Audor will suffer a serious disadvantage of losing all of its investment performance. There is a concern that if the members of New Jeans are left unattended in their own entertainment activities, they may have the public misconception that the exclusive contract has been completely canceled. The brand image of New Jeans is also highly likely to be seriously damaged.
Regarding the claim that the decision to ban activities would cause members to take a long hiatus, he did not accept it, saying, "It is only a damage caused by the debtors' refusal to fulfill the legitimate exclusive contract, but rather the creditor suffers the damage accordingly."
In the end, as the court ruled that 'Sabin' Park', Newzins was banned from practically all entertainment activities without approval or consent, including activities as musicians such as lyrics, writers, performances, and singers, broadcast appearances, events, advertising contracts, and commercial activities based on the status and approval of popular culture artists.
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Currently, the most likely move is to wait for the outcome of the main lawsuit. However, in the case of the main lawsuit, it is not known how long it will take to close the case. In addition, the legal community believes that the court's ruling is likely to be unfavorable in the main lawsuit unless there is new evidence to overturn the judgment.
The chances are slim, but he may return to Adore. The members said "I crossed a river that I couldn't reach because Odor said the possibility of an agreement was open." However, in this case, it is not certain whether Adore will again decide whether to fully support Newzins' activities or `take care.'
You can coolly cancel the exclusive contract with a penalty. Penalties are calculated by multiplying the average monthly sales for two years immediately before the termination of the exclusive contract by the number of months remaining in the contract. Since Newzins claimed that the exclusive contract was terminated in November last year, the penalty is estimated to be 400 to 600 billion won based on this. On the other hand, the penalty will be reduced to tens of billions of won based on the end of all lawsuits.
Reporter Baek Ji-eun silk781220@sportschosun.com
silk781220@sportschosun.com
