Girl group NewJeans is answering questions from the press as they leave the courthouse after the hearing date for the injunction application to 'preserve agency status and prohibit advertising contract conclusion,' held last month at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News.
Adore, a label under HYBE, announced that it will take legal action against those who write malicious posts targeting its group NewJeans.
On the 9th, Adore stated that due to the recent sharp increase in the volume and severity of malicious posts aimed at NewJeans, it has appointed additional dedicated personnel and strengthened its response system.
Many online sites are being monitored, including Naver, DC Inside, Ilgan Best, Nate Pann, FM Korea, Blind, GaeDrip, TheQoo, Ppomppu, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube.
Adore said, "We are continuously collecting evidence of serious rights violations such as disparagement based on the artists' nationality and appearance, spreading false information (fake news), invasion of privacy, malicious insults, and use of derogatory terms, and we are simultaneously requesting prompt deletion and pursuing legal procedures."
It added, "For malicious posts that are repetitive or severe enough to reach a criminal level, we are taking criminal charges. We have currently submitted a complaint to the Yongsan Police Station and plan to continue filing additional complaints."
Adore also expressed a firm stance on dealing with deepfake crimes. The label stated, "We are closely cooperating with investigative agencies regarding the production and distribution of false videos, and the related suspect has already been detained and sent to the prosecution," adding, "We will neither settle nor show leniency, and we will take further measures to ensure that the perpetrator receives appropriate punishment."
The five NewJeans members (Minji, Hani, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein) held a press conference last November, notifying the termination of their exclusive contracts, claiming that Adore had violated significant contractual terms, and announced in February that they would promote under the name 'NJZ.' In response, Adore denied any contract violation and asserted that "the exclusive contracts between Adore and the NewJeans members are still valid."
Subsequently, Adore filed a lawsuit to confirm the validity of the exclusive contracts and a provisional injunction to prevent the NewJeans members from independently signing advertising contracts without the company's approval or consent. The court ruled in full favor of Adore.
NewJeans appealed this decision. At the closed hearing held at 2 p.m. that day, only the representatives of both parties attended, and the session ended in about 15 minutes.
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