On April 3rd, a hearing was held regarding the main lawsuit over the contract dispute between NJZ and ADOR. This marked the first oral argument by both sides, as both NJZ and ADOR made their opening statements at today’s trial. The trial’s purpose is to confirm the validity of NJZ’s exclusive contract with ADOR.
NJZ’s representative began by arguing that they could not fulfill their initial contract with ADOR due to the agency having a completely new management team from when they originally signed their contracts. NJZ’s legal representative stated:
“We believe that the individual termination reasons mentioned are sufficient grounds for termination. However, even if each reason alone is not grounds for termination, when all of them are combined, the conclusion is that the trust between the plaintiff and the defendant cannot be restored.
If all the management has been replaced, then the past and current forms of the agency are completely different corporations, even if it is the same company. We’re not just talking about Min Hee Jin. When Min Hee Jin was ousted, and new management came in under HYBE’s direction, the new management had completely different values from the old management, and it became a different corporation.”
NJZ’s legal representative made the argument that NJZ could not be expected to fulfill their contract with ADOR’s current management, because it is not the same as the old version of ADOR. NJZ’s representative continued their argument:
“The basic trust between NJZ and ADOR has been broken, so we cannot continue together. Rather than looking just at Min Hee Jin, we hope that the court will take a close look at whether the current ADOR is the same as the past agency the group trusted, in this situation where Min Hee Jin was ousted, and whether it is truly justified to rule that the defendants should trust and continue with the current ADOR.”
In response, ADOR’s side made the argument that NJZ’s statements were contradictory:
“In regards to production, the defendant says they cannot promote without Min Hee Jin and that they must be together. While it is true that Min Hee Jin contributed to creating what NJZ is today, it makes no sense to say that NJZ cannot exist without Min Hee Jin.
First, ADOR is a subsidiary of HYBE, which is the number one entertainment company in the industry. So it is nonsense to say that ADOR could not find another producer and support NJZ from that subsidiary. Second, considering that the defendants independently prepared the Hong Kong concert without Min Hee Jin’s help and successfully completed the concert, the claim that only Min Hee Jin could do it contradicts the defendant’s own words and actions.”
When asked whether both sides were open to a settlement, ADOR stated that they were open to reaching an agreement. However, NJZ stated that due to the members’ mental states, a settlement would not be possible.