She is the only NewJeans member sued by the label.
1 hour ago
ADOR has finally revealed why it sued only Danielle among the five NewJeans members despite all of them trying to terminate their exclusive contracts with the label.
Danielle
On July 2, KST, the 31st Civil Division of the Seoul Central District Court held the third hearing for the ₩31.0 billion KRW (about $19.9 million USD) damages suit filed by ADOR against former NewJeans member Danielle, her mother, and former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin took place at the 31st Civil Division of the Seoul Central District Court. During the hearing, ADOR’s legal representatives submitted, as key evidence, an exclusive agreement that the NewJeans members had signed last year with a third-party company.
According to the documents, the NewJeans members signed an exclusive contract on September 25 of last year with a company named “AAO,” backed by Chinese capital. AAO is reportedly a corporate entity based in the Cayman Islands, which is a tax haven, and it was established by the organizers of ComplexCon Hong Kong. This is the same event where the NewJeans members had performed as a group despite losing a court injunction to suspend their exclusive contracts with ADOR. This is also the same entity that had sent a proposal to HYBE’s board of directors to sell ADOR.
The exclusive agreement explicitly stated an obligation to report to AAO about all NewJeans entertainment activities, and also various information related to ADOR’s management. The contract was valid for nine months and was structured to renew automatically unless either party was opposed to it. ADOR argued that this situation created a “double contract” which directly violated the members’ contracts with ADOR.
The label then mentioned that the other NewJeans members who returned to the fold last November were aware of this issue and cooperated with ADOR to resolve it. Consequently, the label took the necessary measures to terminate the contracts with AAO. However, the label claims that, unlike other members, Danielle and her mother reportedly tried to conceal the exclusive agreement until the very end.
As evidence, ADOR presented transcripts of conversations among the members’ parents on December 1 of last year, which included remarks by Danielle’s mother instructing other parents to avoid questions from ADOR regarding past discussions. She also emphasized that they communicate with the label solely through a law firm.
ADOR’s legal representative argued that Danielle’s side not only made no effort to take corrective measures, but they actively hindered the restoration of trust by blaming the label and attempting a cover-up. The label attributed the responsibility of the lawsuit to these illicit actions and concealment attempts by the former NewJeans member’s side.