NewJeans (aka NJZ) have filed a legal objection to contest an injunction granted to ADOR that prohibits the group from pursuing independent activities.
NewJeans submitted the legal objection to the Seoul Central District Court on March 21, per Korea JoongAng Daily. It was submitted the same day the court ruled in favour of their label, ADOR, and granted the company an injunction against the girl group, prohibiting them from pursuing work as independent artists.
On the same day as the legal objection, NewJeans’ parents also released a statement on Instagram, addressing the court’s decisions. “We believe that the decision did not fully take into account the complete breakdown of trust the members have experienced toward ADOR,” they wrote.
NewJeans and their team claimed they “did not have sufficient opportunity to fully present the factual background to the court” due to “the urgent nature of injunction proceedings”. They noted that only one hearing was held for the injunction earlier this month before the ruling was made.
“Additionally, due to an imbalance of information, ADOR and HYBE have full access to all information regarding the members’ entertainment activities, whereas the members have been forced to individually contact relevant parties to request information,” they continued. “The pressure of being involved in a lawsuit, along with fears of retaliation, also prevented many from cooperating.”
“Above all, until the point the exclusive contracts were terminated, we had diligently fulfilled out obligations without any wrongdoing,” they added in the statement. “In contrast, ADOR and HYBE, behind the scenes, continued to treat us unfairly and unequally, ultimately destroying the relationship of trust. It is only a matter of time before the truth becomes clear.”
On March 23, NJZ headlined ComplexCon Hong Kong, performing for the first time since they rebranded in February. During they set, they debuted a new song titled ‘Pitstop’, but also announced a hiatus in accordance with the court ruling.