In a 33 billion KRW (approximately $24 million USD) lawsuit filed by girl group NewJeans’ agency ADOR against Danielle, a former NewJeans member, and former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin for damages, Danielle’s legal team has pointed to ADOR’s unilateral termination of her contract.
On the 11th, the Civil Agreement Division 31 of the Seoul Central District Court held the second hearing in the damages lawsuit brought by ADOR against Danielle, her family, and former CEO Min Hee-jin.
During the hearing, both sides engaged in a sharp debate over the adoption of evidence, specifically KakaoTalk messages from former CEO Min Hee-jin concerning Danielle’s music band contract. The court stated it would consider these arguments.
ADOR’s legal team subsequently argued, based on this and other evidence, that “Danielle had no intention of maintaining her exclusive contract with ADOR.” They further claimed, “Min Hee-jin encouraged NewJeans to terminate their ADOR contract, persuading them by promising to prevent financial disadvantages, thereby inducing contract termination. This constitutes a breach of fiduciary duty.”
Danielle’s legal representatives countered, stating, “There were clear grounds for contract termination with ADOR. The collaboration discussions were merely exploring possibilities, not a significant undertaking.” They added, “She cannot pursue entertainment activities. How can one perform with such an exorbitant penalty for damages looming? The suggestion to continue activities is irresponsible, and the ongoing lawsuit, which is harassing Danielle, is destroying the trust relationship.”
ADOR’s team retorted, asking, “Who initiated this situation?” and added, “It’s incomprehensible for Danielle’s side to claim distress after losing the lawsuit, especially after enduring alleged harassment for over a year.” They further questioned, “How can it be asserted that she cannot perform activities now because ADOR issued a termination notice, after she herself gave notice of exclusive contract termination?”
Conversely, Danielle’s team argued, “After losing the exclusive contract lawsuit, she forfeited the appeal and expressed her intent to return to ADOR. However, ADOR unilaterally terminated the contract, citing past conduct as an issue.” They continued, “Despite requests for specific remedial details, these were ignored, citing reasons such as the relationship between Danielle’s mother and Min Hee-jin. Currently, all members are unable to perform activities. We question whether the normalization of NewJeans is truly possible.”
In November 2024, NewJeans’ five members unilaterally notified ADOR of contract termination, alleging a breach of their exclusive contracts, and began independent activities. However, in October 2025, NewJeans lost the first trial of their lawsuit to confirm the validity of their exclusive contract with ADOR, after which the members, one by one, expressed their intent to return to ADOR without appealing.
However, in December 2025, ADOR notified Danielle that she could no longer be a NewJeans member, terminating her exclusive contract. Subsequently, ADOR filed a damages lawsuit totaling approximately 43.1 billion KRW (around $31 million USD) against Danielle, one of her family members, and Min Hee-jin. Currently, the return of members Hae-rin, Hye-in, and Hanni to ADOR has been confirmed, while Min-ji is still negotiating specific return conditions.
Following this, in April, former CEO Min Hee-jin held a press conference, proposing to halt all ongoing legal disputes on the condition that she would not receive the put option payment from her first-instance victory. However, HYBE indicated its intention to continue the lawsuit by depositing 29.25 billion KRW (approximately $21 million USD) as security to prevent provisional enforcement of the ruling.
At the first preparatory hearing, Danielle’s team claimed that ADOR was deliberately prolonging the lawsuit, stating, “The plaintiff seems to be openly revealing their intention to drag out this case. We desire a swift and focused deliberation.” ADOR, however, argued, “This is a lawsuit for damages and penalties. The defendant’s entertainment activities are not dictated by this case; the defendant can decide to pursue her activities independently. This lawsuit is not delaying her activities.” Danielle’s team sharply countered, “ADOR notified Danielle of contract termination *after* she expressed her intent to return to NewJeans. If Danielle resumes activities, ADOR will undoubtedly raise objections and disputes. That seems quite obvious.”
While ADOR’s side is considering calling witnesses and the court mentioned the possibility of a settlement, ADOR stated, “We don’t rule it out entirely.” Danielle’s team, however, responded, “The plaintiff filed a lawsuit with a substantial penalty for contract termination, and we’ve never heard the word ‘settlement’ before.”
In subsequent arguments, Danielle’s team asserted, “From the start of this case, the plaintiff has exclusively targeted Danielle among NewJeans members, notifying her of exclusive contract termination and filing a damages lawsuit demanding a large penalty.” They claimed, “There is an unjust purpose to warn other NewJeans members that they could face massive retaliatory lawsuits if they do not cooperate.” Furthermore, they pointed out that “the plaintiff appears to be intentionally delaying this lawsuit, regardless of its outcome, to waste Danielle’s prime years as an idol on legal disputes, thereby achieving their desired objective.”
Min Hee-jin’s representative also stated, “Such attempts to delay the trial, with the malicious intent to ruin the defendants’ lives, should not be tolerated.”
ADOR’s legal representative countered, “The plaintiff also desires a swift confirmation of rights,” but argued, “It would be problematic if that process were to restrict the plaintiff’s ability to present evidence.”
Subsequently, ADOR adjusted the claim amount in the damages lawsuit, submitting it to the court with a revised figure of approximately 33.09 billion KRW (around $24 million USD) from the original 43.09 billion KRW (around $31 million USD).
