The manager of the group NewJeans has accused Adore's CEO Kim Joo-young of workplace harassment. In response, Adore has warned of legal action, claiming that the manager committed serious misconduct.
On the 10th, Channel A reported that NewJeans' manager, referred to as A, filed a complaint against CEO Kim Joo-young for workplace harassment with the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
According to the report, A claimed that Adore confined them for about three hours while demanding the submission of a laptop and requested the submission of a personal mobile phone without legal grounds. A also cited the initiation of an investigation based on the formatting of the laptop as a reason for the workplace harassment complaint.
Adore immediately countered these claims. They stated that A had committed serious misconduct by directly contacting advertisers to pressure them into signing contracts between the artist (NewJeans) and the brand, excluding the company.
Adore stated, “According to the exclusive contract, the artist is obligated to conduct entertainment activities only through Adore,” and added, “We immediately initiated an investigation and provided the manager with ample opportunity to explain, but they did not cooperate with the investigation, making false statements contrary to clear evidence.”
They further emphasized, “As a result, we had no choice but to place the employee on standby and demand the return of the company asset, the laptop. There were no coercive actions, including illegal confinement, during this process.”
They also refuted the claim that the formatting of the laptop was used as a disciplinary reason.
Adore stated, “Any information related to work performed using the company asset, the laptop, must be returned without arbitrary deletion. (However, A) made it impossible to verify what data was deleted during the formatting process,” and added, “We plan to take necessary legal action after thoroughly investigating the facts.”
Thus, Adore is now engaged in a truth dispute with manager A, following the situation with NewJeans.
On November 28, NewJeans held an emergency press conference regarding the termination of their exclusive contract and declared the termination of their contract with Adore effective at midnight on the 29th. The members stated that since the termination was due to a breach of contract by HYBE and Adore, they would not be liable for any penalties and could engage in free activities.
However, Adore stated, “The exclusive contract between the company and the artist cannot be lightly terminated based solely on one party's claims,” and initiated legal proceedings to confirm the validity of the exclusive contract, entering into a legal dispute.
[Lee Da-kyum, Star Today Reporter]
