Adore and Daniel's side clash over disclosure of NewJeans activity plans and appraisal materials [Comprehensive]

*This content was translated by AI.

Adore and the side representing former NewJeans member Daniel expressed differing views on the scope of disclosure for appraisal materials to calculate damages.

On the 10th afternoon, the Civil Consolidated Division No. 31 of Seoul Central District Court (Judge Nam In-su (Director)) held the fifth argument session in the lawsuit filed by Adore seeking damages against Daniel, his family, and Min Hee-jin, CEO of Adore.

On this day, Daniel's side stated, "It is necessary to verify whether NewJeans activity plans actually existed." This points out that although about a year has passed since the NewJeans members declared their return, no concrete activity plans are in place.

They further argued, "If activities could not proceed due to Adore's insufficient production capabilities, the scope of Daniel's liability for damages resulting from breach of obligation should also change."

In response, Adore's side countered, "While litigation may have delayed the resumption of activities, there are no plans that do not exist at all." They also added that it must be examined whether there is a legal obligation to submit such materials to Daniel's side.

Differences in opinion were also shown regarding the scope of disclosure for appraisal materials. Adore's side maintains that trade secrets are included in the materials submitted to appraisers, making it difficult to provide the originals in full, while Daniel's side argues that verifying appraisal results is difficult without examining the originals.

In response, the court proposed a method of redacting sections corresponding to trade secrets and allowing review in the presence of Daniel's side's accountant, and also requested a specific summary of the scope of the damage claim.

Meanwhile, NewJeans engaged in an exclusive contract dispute with Adore for about a year starting from November 2024 but lost the first-instance lawsuit confirming the validity of the exclusive contract last October. Since then, Haerin, Hyein, and Hanni have returned to the agency one after another, while Minji continues negotiations.

Adore notified Daniel of termination of the exclusive contract, stating that Daniel bears major responsibility for triggering NewJeans' exclusive contract dispute and causing members to leave and delaying their return. In response, Adore filed a damages lawsuit worth 33.1 billion won against Daniel, his family, and Min Hee-jin, CEO of Adore.

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*This content was translated by AI.