Can the group NewJeans, currently in a contract dispute with their agency Adore, find a compromise?
The 41st Civil Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Chief Judge Jeong Hoe-il) will hold a mediation session this afternoon regarding Adore's lawsuit to confirm the validity of the exclusive contract against the five members of NewJeans.
The court decided to refer the case to mediation on July 24. Mediation referral is a procedure that encourages resolution of conflicts between both parties through compromise rather than a judgment when the court deems it preferable.
NewJeans and Adore have been at an impasse since the beginning of their exclusive contract dispute.
NewJeans maintains that "the trust relationship has collapsed, and we cannot continue the exclusive contract," while Adore counters that "there are no grounds for contract termination."
The court has designated today as a private mediation session and has requested the attendance of NewJeans members. If mediation fails, a ruling will be made on October 30.
The conflict between both parties surfaced when NewJeans held an emergency press conference last November to notify Adore of the termination of their exclusive contract. Subsequently, they declared that they would engage in independent activities under the new name 'NJZ.'
In response, Adore stated, "Claiming that trust has been unilaterally broken does not constitute grounds for termination," and filed a lawsuit against NewJeans on December 3 to confirm the validity of the exclusive contract. On January 6, they also applied for a provisional injunction to maintain their status as an agency and to prohibit the signing of advertising contracts.
On March 21, the court accepted Adore's application for a provisional injunction to maintain agency status and prohibit the signing of advertising contracts, ruling that NewJeans should not engage in independent activities.
Nevertheless, the members took the stage at a concert in Hong Kong under the name NJZ, and Adore retaliated with an indirect enforcement application. Indirect enforcement is a measure that orders a party to pay a certain amount based on the delay if they do not comply with a court decision.
On May 29, the court accepted the indirect enforcement application, ruling that NewJeans should not engage in entertainment activities without prior approval or consent from Adore until the first instance ruling on the exclusive contract is made. It also decided that if they violated this obligation and engaged in independent activities, each member would have to pay Adore 1 billion won for each violation.
[Lee Da-gyeom, Star Today Reporter]
