NewJeans Seoul Judge injunction

Photo Credit: OLENS Global / CC by 3.0

A Seoul court has hit K-Pop group NewJeans with an injunction, with fines for independent activity starting at $730,000 per infraction.

The Seoul Central District Court ruled on Friday that K-pop girl group NewJeans must refrain from performing without Ador’s consent or approval until a decision is made in a lawsuit over the validity of its members’ exclusive contracts.

Should the group violate the court’s order, each member will be required to pay 1 billion won ($730,000) per infraction to Ador. The court also ordered NewJeans to pay the legal costs of the filing.

NewJeans notified Ador of their request for contract termination last November after internal conflicts at the company quickly went public. Since then, the group has attempted to pursue independent activity under the name NJZ, but is now barred from doing so without repercussion.

In March, the court accepted Ador’s initial injunction request, against which NewJeans’ members quickly filed an appeal. They voiced their intent to continue promotional events and performed as NJZ at the ComplexCon event in Hong Kong.

On Friday, NewJeans responded to the court order by clarifying that the decision was related to the previous injunction issued in March. That order prohibited the members from conducting independent activities. The new ruling, they emphasized, was not part of the ongoing appeal they filed against the initial injunction.

The group’s attorneys noted that the court’s latest decision is “temporary until the appeal is resolved.” They add: “If the NewJeans members win the injunction appeal, both the original and the related indirect enforcement rulings will lose their legal effect. In practice, indirect enforcement is typically issued in conjunction with an injunction ruling.”

During the first hearing over the dispute between NewJeans and Ador last month, the group’s legal team expressed no intention of settling. Ador’s representatives, meanwhile, indicated they were open to a settlement. The next hearing is scheduled for June 5.