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Court's ban on NewJeans members' solo advertising deals becomes final

Published: 25 Jun. 2025, 14:07

NewJeans members respond to questions from the media at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on March 7. [NEWS1]

The legal battle between K-pop girl group NewJeans and its agency ADOR took a decisive turn this week, as the court’s ban on the group’s five members pursuing solo advertising activities became final.

None of the members filed a final appeal by the legal deadline on Wednesday, effectively ending their challenge against the injunction, according to legal sources.

The Seoul High Court had rejected the group’s appeal on June 17, upholding a prior ruling that barred the members from signing independent advertising contracts or acting as their own agents. The court found insufficient grounds to void the exclusive contracts signed with ADOR, a subsidiary of HYBE.

The dispute began after the members claimed their contracts with ADOR were nullified in November 2024 and began pursuing individual commercial activities. In response, ADOR filed for an injunction in January to block the members from independently cutting advertising deals.

Girl group NewJeans [ADOR]

“It is difficult to conclude that Ador seriously violated key obligations in the exclusive contract or that mutual trust between the two parties has irreparably broken down,” said the Seoul Central District Court in March, granting the injunction.

The members' request to overturn the ruling was dismissed in April, and their subsequent appeal to the high court was also rejected. In May, the court approved ADOR’s request for indirect enforcement, ordering each member to pay 1 billion won ($733,700) to ADOR for every instance of violation.

Separately, a first-instance trial is ongoing over a suit filed by ADOR to validate the exclusivity of the group’s contracts.

BY JEONG HYE-JEONG [[email protected]]