Danielle's Side Just Called ADOR's Court Claims a "Distortion"
Four days after ADOR alleged in court that Danielle had signed a dual contract tied to Chinese capital, her legal team pushed back directly. In a statement released July 6, Danielle's representative, law firm Hwawoo, called the claim a distortion of an unrelated 2025 event and said no dual exclusive contract was ever signed.
The dispute traces back to ADOR's third hearing in its damages lawsuit against Danielle, her mother and former CEO Min Hee-jin, held July 2 at the Seoul Central District Court. During that hearing, ADOR's legal team referenced a September 2024 recording it says shows Min discussing contact with Chinese investors as part of an effort to separate NewJeans from the agency. Reports following the hearing extended the claim to suggest Danielle and other members had entered or attempted to enter a separate contract with a Chinese company.
Hwawoo's statement draws a sharp line: what actually happened, it says, was a third party proposing to sell ADOR shares to HYBE during last year's NewJeans dispute - a different matter entirely from signing a dual contract. "There is no truth to the claim that the members, including Danielle, had entered into or attempted to sign a dual exclusive contract with any specific company," the statement read.
The rebuttal lands in a case that has already narrowed once. ADOR initially sought roughly 43.1 billion won in damages before cutting the claim to 33.1 billion won ($24.4 million) earlier this year. The same July 2 hearing also saw ADOR argue that Danielle was the only NewJeans member to pursue independent commercial work - including a paid collaboration with American band Emotional Oranges and an unauthorized watch brand deal - without agency approval, a claim Danielle's team has separately disputed by noting the activities she's accused of were group efforts involving all NewJeans members.
Where the other members stand hasn't changed. Haerin, Hyein and Hanni have finalized their return to ADOR; Minji remains in talks over the terms of hers. Danielle, whose exclusive contract was terminated in December, is not part of that return track.
No date has been set for the next hearing.
