Ador says Daniel is the only ex-NewJeans member who acted independently, showed no intent to fix violations

Seoul Central District Court's Civil Division 31 (Presiding Judge Nam In-soo) held the third oral argument on July 2 in Ador's damages lawsuit against former NewJeans member Daniel, her family, and former CEO Min Hee-jin.

Ardor's case centered on one claim: Daniel was the only NewJeans member to independently pursue musician activities, then expand them into commercial work. That made her violations the most serious in the group, according to the agency. Ador also said it's now difficult to maintain the exclusive contract normally.

The Emotional Orange collaboration became Ador's exhibit A. The agency invested $175,000 in artist production costs. Recording and production had already started. Final filming got halted. But the work had happened—a breach of contract, Ador argued.

On Daniel's response: she adopted a "let's not dwell on the past" attitude. She showed no intention to correct violations or take equivalent measures. Ador was blunt. Daniel "made no effort toward corrective action and instead hindered trust recovery through evasion or concealment."

Ardor also flagged two broader problems. NewJeans members established a collective structured to replace an entertainment agency. There are suspicions of dual contracts with a Chinese company. That same Chinese company later delivered a proposal to sell Ador to HYBE—which Ador cited as additional evidence of contract violations.

Ardor initially filed for approximately 43.1 billion won. The claim was then adjusted down to 33.09 billion won.