In a shocking new twist, ADOR alleged that former NewJeans member Danielle breached her exclusive contract by moving ahead with independent musician and commercial entertainment activities without the company’s approval.
On July 2, the Seoul Central District Court’s Civil Division 31 (Presiding Judge Nam In-su) held the third hearing in ADOR’s damages lawsuit against Danielle, her family, and former CEO Min Hee-jin. ADOR claimed, "Defendant Danielle’s breaches involve independent musician and commercial entertainment activities," adding, "By conducting musician activities on her own in violation of the exclusive contract, she infringed the most essential part of the agreement—entertainment activities through advertisements, especially as a musician."
Revealing portions of a messenger conversation, ADOR further asserted that "recording for a U.S. musician’s track has already been completed, and the project advanced enough to incur production and artist costs," arguing that significant independent entertainment activities had already taken place.
ADOR continued, "If she recorded vocals independently without going through the plaintiff, it is a clear breach of the exclusive contract," and added, "Among NewJeans members, the only person who independently carried out musician activities was defendant Danielle."
Previously, in December last year, ADOR notified Danielle that it was terminating her exclusive contract, determining that Danielle and her family were key parties responsible for triggering the current contract dispute. ADOR also filed a large-scale damages suit for alleged breaches totaling 43.09 billion KRW, later adjusting the claim to 33.09 billion KRW.
Meanwhile, Haerin, Hyein, and Hanni have returned to ADOR, and Minji is reportedly considering a return as well.