Could there be a fundamental misunderstanding between the parties? New details have emerged regarding the controversial termination of Daniel’s exclusive contract with agency ADOR, following her reported notification of expulsion from the popular K-pop girl group NewJeans.
On the 11th, Civil Agreement Division 31 of the Seoul Central District Court held the second hearing for the significant damages lawsuit filed by ADOR against Daniel, her family, and former CEO Min Hee-jin. Attorneys for both sides continued their heated legal battle, each steadfastly asserting the other’s responsibility for the ongoing conflict involving ADOR, NewJeans, HYBE, and former CEO Min Hee-jin. During the trial, both parties also engaged in a dispute over the admissibility of Min Hee-jin’s KakaoTalk conversations as crucial evidence.
ADOR’s legal team alleged that, in conversations from October 2024, former CEO Min Hee-jin assured NewJeans members’ parents that she would “devise a plan to avoid financial damages, such as compensation and penalty fees” and “prepare severance pay if they depart from HYBE.” Furthermore, ADOR described Daniel’s mother as “the person who played the largest role among NewJeans members’ parents in the course of former CEO Min Hee-jin’s illegal activities.” They added, “Min Hee-jin instigated this, and Daniel’s mother played a substantial role in mediating between Min Hee-jin and the members, and between Min Hee-jin and the members’ parents. Consequently, Daniel’s mother was also named in the damages lawsuit as an accomplice to Min Hee-jin.”
In response, Daniel’s side countered, “We were fully aware that there were legitimate grounds for contract termination with ADOR. The collaboration matter was merely an exploration of potential opportunities, not something as significant as it’s being portrayed.” They passionately argued, “Daniel cannot engage in entertainment activities under these circumstances. With a colossal penalty and damages claim of 100 billion won, how can she possibly promote? Suggesting she continue activities is an irresponsible assertion, and the ongoing lawsuit is severely damaging the relationship of trust, effectively tormenting Daniel.”
Specifically, ADOR highlighted Telegram conversations from the very day NewJeans members lost their first-instance injunction against ADOR regarding their exclusive contracts. They claimed Daniel’s team was independently proceeding with a featuring for the title track of American band Emotional Oranges’ album and music video filming, without involving her agency. ADOR further stated that Emotional Oranges had already invested a substantial $175,000 (approximately 250 million won) in artist fees. ADOR’s counsel pointed out, “This unequivocally demonstrates an intent to persist in violating the contract, with no intention of complying with the injunction ruling.”
Daniel’s side responded by stating, “These were entirely reasonable measures taken, believing the exclusive contract would be lawfully terminated, and simply exploring future possibilities.” Regarding other alleged activities, they clarified, “These matters were communicated in writing well in advance, and since no formal contract was signed, no undue profit was gained whatsoever.”
Both parties also presented differing views on the sequence of events following NewJeans’ loss in the exclusive contract lawsuit against ADOR, including their subsequent offer to return and ADOR’s eventual notice of Daniel’s expulsion.
ADOR’s side questioned, “Who initiated this entire situation?” and expressed, “It is incomprehensible that Daniel’s side claims to be suffering after losing the lawsuit, despite enduring this and being tormented for over a year. Furthermore,” they asked, “After unilaterally notifying us of contract termination, what sense does it make to now claim she cannot perform activities because ADOR is terminating the contract? This defies factual understanding.”
Conversely, Daniel’s side retorted, “After losing the exclusive contract lawsuit, we offered to waive the appeal and return to ADOR, but the agency unilaterally terminated the contract, citing vague past words and actions as issues. We repeatedly asked for specific details of the required corrections, but this was ignored, based on the alleged relationship between Daniel’s mother and Min Hee-jin.” They added with concern, “Currently, all members are unable to promote. We seriously question whether NewJeans can truly return to normalcy under these circumstances.”
ADOR’s side elaborated, “During interviews after the ruling, we needed to address past events, understand the full circumstances, and ascertain if this person was truly trustworthy. In this process, we uncovered many new facts, which led to our demands for correction. The trust relationship had been severely damaged, and our intent was to convey, ‘You know best what you can do to rectify this situation and restore trust, so you must acknowledge it.’ If genuine corrections were made and trust was restored, we would continue together. However, if the response was merely superficial or evasive, and considering the complex relationship between Daniel’s mother and former CEO Min Hee-jin, if we felt like we were carrying a ticking time bomb by continuing, we concluded it was over and decided it was best to part ways amicably.” They further clarified, “Our idea of ‘correction’ didn’t mean ‘don’t do it in the future’ or ‘stop what you’re doing now.’ It simply meant properly reversing the results of past actions, but there was no discussion about that at all.”
Conversely, Daniel’s side stated, “The points ADOR demanded from Daniel through a certified letter were about past violations, and we appealed for clarification on whether physical correction of these specific violations was even possible. ADOR did not respond to this and instead notified us of contract termination. We accepted the lawsuit loss and declared our return precisely because ADOR’s CEO also appeared in court and explicitly stated trust in the NewJeans members.”
In November 2024, all five NewJeans members claimed their contracts were terminated due to ADOR’s breach of exclusive contract terms, unilaterally notifying termination and beginning independent activities. However, in October 2025, NewJeans lost the first-instance lawsuit for confirmation of their exclusive contract’s validity with ADOR. Subsequently, the members, without appealing the ruling, successively announced their intention to return to ADOR.
However, in December 2025, ADOR notified Daniel of the termination of her exclusive contract, explicitly stating she could no longer be a NewJeans member. Following this, ADOR filed a substantial 43.1 billion won damages lawsuit against Daniel, one of her family members, and Min Hee-jin. Currently, Haerin, Hyein, and Hanni have officially confirmed their return to ADOR, while Minji is still in active discussions regarding specific conditions for her return.
