Copyright channelnewsasia
On Thursday (Oct 30), the Seoul Central District Court ruled that the contracts of K-pop group NewJeans with South Korean label Ador, with whom they are currently embroiled in a legal battle with, are still valid. During the verdict, the presiding judge said: “It is difficult to regard Ador as having violated the exclusive contract merely by dismissing former CEO Min Hee-jin.” In April last year, Min's former employer, entertainment conglomerate Hybe, filed a criminal complaint for breach of trust against her, claiming that she and her executives had planned to take full control of Ador, a label that Hybe owned 80 per cent of the shares of at the time. She denied the allegations, stating that it would have been impossible for her to usurp management control with her shares, which amounted to 18 per cent then. In August, Min was removed from her position as Ador CEO. However, she was still a producer for NewJeans and a part of Ador's board of directors. She eventually resigned from her director position in November and left the label. In July this year, it was announced that Min was cleared of breach of trust charges and that the case would not be brought to prosecution.
