All the members of NewJeans have not appealed the first ruling regarding the validity of their exclusive contracts with ADOR, and the ruling has now been finalized.
Attention is now focused on whether ADOR will welcome the return of Hanni, Danielle, and Minji, and if so, how they will reunite with LE SSERAFIM and ILLIT under HYBE’s umbrella.
According to reports, NewJeans members Haerin, Hyein, Minji, Danielle, and Hanni did not submit an appeal by midnight, the deadline for filing an appeal. As a result, the first-instance ruling issued by the 41st Civil Division of the Seoul Central District Court on October 30th has been finalized.
ADOR first announced the return of members Haerin and Hyein on November 12th, stating, “The two have decided to respect the court’s ruling and abide by their exclusive contracts.”
Later the same day, Minji, Hanni, and Danielle also announced their return, releasing a separate statement explaining the delay: “There has been a delay in the announcement as one member is currently in Antarctica. We are announcing our position separately as ADOR has not responded yet.”
While some fans are welcoming the group back, the atmosphere among the fandoms of fellow HYBE groups LE SSERAFIM and ILLIT is reportedly largely cold.
The source of the friction is that both LE SSERAFIM and ILLIT were publicly dragged into the legal battle. NewJeans’ side, along with former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin built their case around claims of mistreatment, explicitly naming the other groups.
The legal filings asserted that ADOR had allowed HYBE to conduct “discriminatory and restrictive actions” against NewJeans. The primary examples cited were: ILLIT’s launch, which was labeled a “copycat” concept that damaged NewJeans’ brand value, and LE SSERAFIM allegedly being debuted first as HYBE’s “first girl group” due to favoritism, breaking a promise made to NewJeans.
Both LE SSERAFIM and ILLIT were exposed to a wave of negative publicity, mockery, and malicious online attacks as a direct result of these public accusations.
Given that NewJeans’ side was responsible for pulling these fellow artists into the fight, the fandoms for those groups are now reportedly enraged by NewJeans’ return to HYBE.
All eyes are now on whether NewJeans can successfully resolve the tension with HYBE and the other artists under its umbrella after a year of highly public conflict.
>> All NewJeans Members Return to ADOR: Statements, Family and Reactions
