HYBE label Ador has asked a court in Seoul to issue an injunction stopping NewJeans from entering into any new brand deals while its legal dispute with the K-pop group goes through the motions.
According to Yonhap, Ador says it is seeking the injunction to “prevent confusion and potential harm to third parties, including advertisers”, having learned that NewJeans have been reaching out to advertising agencies about possible new brand partnerships without the label’s involvement.
The girl group announced they had terminated their contract with Ador at the end of November, accusing the label of failing to address various grievances that they had formally raised.
The announcement followed months of dramas at Ador after HYBE management fell out with and ultimately ousted the label’s founder and CEO Min Hee-jin. Ador argues that NewJeans can’t unilaterally terminate their contract with the label and has launched legal proceedings to enforce the deal.
The label summarised one of its key arguments in that wider dispute in its court filing seeking the injunction, stating, “allowing unilateral terminations of exclusive contracts and independent activities without legal procedures could undermine investment in the entertainment industry and destabilise the K-pop sector”.