Court orders NewJeans to pay Ador 1 billion won for each unauthorized activity
The Seoul Central District Court has ruled that each member of NewJeans, a girl group under Hybe subsidiary Ador, must pay 1 billion won ($725,000) to the agency for every entertainment activity carried out without its prior consent, amid the ongoing legal dispute over their exclusive contracts.
According to a local report, the Seoul court on Thursday accepted Ador’s request for an indirect compulsory execution, a legal mechanism used to pressure a party to comply with a court order by imposing monetary penalties for noncompliance.
“Since NewJeans violated the obligations set by the injunction by performing under a new group name and even releasing new songs before and after the injunction ruling, it is necessary to impose indirect compulsory enforcement to ensure compliance with the order,” the court ruled.
“If the debtors violate these obligations from the date they receive the official copy of this decision, they must pay 1 billion won per violation to the creditor,” it added.
The ruling does not apply retrospectively, sparing the five NewJeans members from owing billions of won for unauthorized activities they have undertaken since unilaterally declaring their exclusive contracts to be terminated.
“Until a verdict on the first trial on the ongoing lawsuit regarding the validity of NewJeans' exclusive contracts is delivered, the members are prohibited from engaging in any entertainment-related activities without Ador’s prior approval,” the court stated.
In March, the same court sided with Ador in a preliminary injunction that barred NewJeans from signing individual endorsement or entertainment deals outside the agency's purview, further reinforcing the label’s legal position in the ongoing conflict.
The ruling comes as NewJeans has claimed it terminated the exclusive contracts with Ador, citing a breach of trust, in November.
The second hearing in the ongoing main lawsuit to determine the validity of the contracts is scheduled for June 5.
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