Daniel from NewJeans criticizes ADOR for delaying court proceedings and demands strong sanctions amid ongoing legal disputes.

Daniel of NewJeans criticized ADOR, saying "strong sanctions are necessary." Today (14th) afternoon, at the Seoul Central District Court Civil Joint 31st Division in Seocho District, Seoul, the first oral argument of the damage compensation lawsuit filed by ADOR against Daniel and former ADOR representative Min Hee-jin was held. On this day, the parties were absent, and the lawyers attended on behalf of their clients to present their claims. During the oral argument, Daniel's lawyer raised concerns about the situation where all ADOR's lawyers resigned, causing delays in the trial. They argued that this is an attempt to prolong the case and prevent Daniel from being active during his shining moments as an idol. Daniel's side stated, "It is incomprehensible that they changed to a new lawyer just before the hearing date," and added, "This is an act intended to deliberately delay the trial, and strong sanctions are necessary against this." ADOR's side claimed, "This is merely a psychological and unfounded concern from Daniel's side," asserting that it cannot be said that there are actual impacts on entertainment activities. Previously, ADOR had recently contracted four lawyers from the law firm Rihan due to the legal dispute with Daniel. This change occurred about three weeks after five lawyers from Kim & Chang, who had been representing ADOR, submitted their resignation on April 24. The law firm Rihan represents Bang Si-hyuk, the chairman of HYBE. Bang Si-hyuk, along with former HYBE executives, was accused last July of violating capital market laws and has been summoned for investigation multiple times by the Seoul Police Financial Crime Investigation Team. They are suspected of having misled existing investors about IPO plans before HYBE's listing in 2020 and selling shares to a special purpose company (SPC) established by HYBE executives, gaining over 1.2 trillion won (about 120 million USD), and over 1.9 trillion won (about 190 million USD) when combined with investors. Bang Si-hyuk denies the allegations. Daniel announced an emergency press conference with the members of NewJeans on November 29, 2024, claiming that trust in ADOR has completely collapsed and that he cannot continue activities under ADOR. In response, ADOR filed a lawsuit to confirm the validity of the exclusive contract with the members, and the first trial court ruled in favor of ADOR. Heerin, Haein, and Hani declared their return to ADOR at the end of last year. After notifying Daniel of the termination of his exclusive contract, ADOR filed a lawsuit for breach of contract and damages amounting to 43.1 billion won (about 43 million USD), arguing that the termination notice was unavoidable due to Daniel's breach of contract. In January, Daniel posted on his official SNS, "Letting go of the time we've spent together is not easy, but now I want to focus on what is truly important, our hearts, dreams, and the warm days ahead," adding, "Minji, Hani, Heerin, and Haein are my second family. Although our time together has been missed, nothing can separate us. That precious bond is a unique connection that should never be taken for granted. There will be difficulties ahead, but we will move forward while protecting each other. That is the most important thing to me." • NewJeans Daniel files a lawsuit for 43 billion yen against ADOR, appoints four new lawyers. • ADOR provisionally seizes real estate owned by Min Hee-jin and Daniel's family, totaling 7 billion won.