Min Hee-jin's team estimates NewJeans' contract penalty at 450-620 billion won amid contract disputes with ADOR and HYBE.
November/25/2024 12:32Related Groups & Members
As former ADOR representative Min Hee-jin leaves HYBE and ADOR, it has become clear that Min Hee-jin's side estimated the penalty for NewJeans if they terminate their contract at 450 billion (about 49.5 billion yen) to 620 billion (68.24 billion yen) won. On the 24th, according to South Korean media Chosun.com, Min Hee-jin and two former vice representatives of ADOR discussed the penalty for NewJeans if they terminate their exclusive contract with ADOR in March this year. The calculated penalty was 450 to 620 billion won. The three-person talk room was revealed during the court process of the provisional injunction against voting rights that Min Hee-jin filed against HYBE. In response, Min Hee-jin's side explained in court that "the amount of damages calculated was a rough method for estimating ADOR's corporate value." ADOR's sales last year were 110.3 billion won (about 12.13 billion yen, according to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic public notice system). Considering that NewJeans debuted in July 2022 and the typical contract period for Korean idols is seven years, there are about five years left in their contract. Assuming an average monthly sales per person of 2 billion won (about 220 million yen) and multiplying by the remaining contract period of 62 months, the penalty per member would total 124 billion won (about 13.64 billion yen). Multiplying this by the number of NewJeans members, which is five, results in 620 billion won. The legal community believes that if NewJeans files a lawsuit to terminate the exclusive contract while bearing the penalty, it will be difficult to prove the grounds for liability. Lawyer Cho Kwang-hee (WON Law Firm) stated through Chosun.com, "When I saw NewJeans' demands, it is not clear what ADOR violated in the contract. If the court does not accept it as a reason to suspend the effect of the exclusive contract, NewJeans' contract will be maintained." He continued, "Most of the demands NewJeans made in the certified letter are against HYBE. Although HYBE and ADOR may seem like one, they are legally distinct entities. Just because HYBE made a mistake does not mean the contract with ADOR can be terminated." Lawyer Cho added that calculating the amount based on the premise that NewJeans would leave the company could give the impression that NewJeans and Min Hee-jin's side are one team, and an explanation is needed regarding comments that suggest tampering (the act of contacting another agency before the contract period ends). Prior to this, on the 13th, NewJeans sent a certified letter to ADOR, demanding corrections on six violation matters, including allegations of workplace bullying, deletion of leaked past photos, and actions against HYBE staff who belittled NewJeans. They stated that if the correction demands were not accepted within 14 days of receipt, they would terminate the exclusive contract. It is speculated that NewJeans ultimately demanded the return of former representative Min Hee-jin. However, on the 20th, former representative Min Hee-jin resigned from ADOR's internal board, making her return impossible. Now, with NewJeans' demands becoming difficult to accept by the 27th, attention is focused on whether a penalty lawsuit amounting to several hundred billion won (about several hundred million yen) will actually take place.
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