Newjeans: Court judgment against K-pop band before an important appearance

Newjeans: Court judgment against K-pop band before an important appearance

A South Korean court has decided that the K-Pop band Newjeans in the long-lasting legal dispute with the Ador label must not independently carry out music or commercial activities. The Seoul Central District Court confirmed an injunction that prohibits the group to change their names and work independently by Ador, as this could cause "serious damage" for the call of the label.

The background of the legal dispute

Newjeans, who recently announced their new name NJZ, argue that their contract with Ador is invalid due to allegations of abuse. The members of the band accuse the label of "manipulation", "deliberate failure" and harassment at the workplace.

The position of ador

Ador denies these allegations and emphasizes that Newjeans are still contractually bound, which means that the members cannot do entertainment activities without the consent of the label. In an email to CNN, Ador made it clear that most of the allegations of Newjeans were "misunderstandings".

The development of the band

The legal dispute has kept South Korea in suspense since November last year when Newjeans held an emotional press conference to announce the termination of their contract with Ador. Last month, the members announced that they change their name to NJZ. In conversation with CNN, Pham Ngoc Han, also known as Hanni, said that this step was to "transform this difficult time into something exciting".

important appearances and reactions

The judgments come shortly before a planned appearance at the Complexcon Hong Kong Festival, where the group should appear under the name NJZ. In a statement, the band confirmed that they still wanted to notice their appearance on Sunday to "avoid unnecessary disorders or damage to those who were looking forward to the show". Ador supported this on the condition that the band appears as Newjeans.

The success of Newjeans

Newjeans has established itself as one of the most successful pop groups in South Korea and has already reached the charts with her debut song "Attention" in 2022. They achieved international successes, including the hit "Super Shy", which reached the top of the US Billboard 200. In addition to Pham, the group consists of the members Haer (Kang Haer), Minji (Kim Minji), Hyein (Lee Hye-In) and Danielle (Danielle Marsh), all of whom are under 21 years old.

observations of the music industry

The legal dispute of Newjeans is not only persecuted by the loyal fans, the so -called "Bunnies", but also by the South Korean music industry as a whole. A group of five large associations, including the Korea Entertainment Producers ’Association, recently published a joint explanation in which she denounced a practice that she calls" manipulation "at which external parties deal with the agencies to build direct business relationships with contractually bound bands.

legal assessment and outlook

The court ruling follows a preliminary hearing at the beginning of this month, in which each band member presented the allegations of unfair treatment. Ador argued that the band's success was only possible through their investments. The injunction is immediately effective and a lawsuit by Ador is to be negotiated entirely on April 3. However, the band stated that the decision of the court is planning to contest the judgment.

Although the injunction is temporary, it is classified as "very significant" because it points out that the case of Newjeans "either extremely weak or practically non -existent", according to Sangrock KHO, a lawyer by the South Korean law firm Pil.

"The Korean legal system is generally very cheap for the artists in cases like this, since the courts are extremely reserved when it comes to issuing interim dispositions that could cause harmful damage to the career of an artist," he said in an email to Cnn.

The decision of the court indicates that all claims, evidence and extensive presentation materials in the courtroom were reviewed before it was concluded that Newjeans ’argument - that the broken trust was caused exclusively by Hybe and Ador - is not legally valid.

The report was created with the support of CNN employees Stephy Chung, Yoonjung SEO and Kim Sumi.