At a July 2 hearing in Seoul, ADOR finally explained why it sued only former NewJeans member Danielle Marsh. The agency linked its multi billion won damages claim to a secret AAO contract and what it calls uniquely serious solo activities.
The explanation comes months after ADOR ended Danielle’s contract on December 29, 2025, then sued her, a family member and former CEO Min Hee jin for 43.1 billion won. With all five members having fought ADOR together, fans have long asked why only Danielle was cut loose.
What ADOR Told The Court On July 2
During the third hearing at Seoul District Court, ADOR unveiled an exclusive agreement dated September 25, 2025, signed by all five members with a Cayman Islands company called AAO. The label described it as a second, competing management contract while NewJeans were still under ADOR.
ADOR said the AAO deal ran nine months with automatic renewal and required NewJeans to report activities and internal ADOR information to the company. The agency framed this as conflicting with its own exclusive contracts and as what it views as illegal double contracting.
To answer why ADOR sued Danielle alone, the label argued that, once a court confirmed its contracts, other members cooperated to cancel the AAO deal. Danielle and her mother, it alleged, instead tried to keep the contract hidden, citing December 1 group chat messages urging replies to ADOR only through lawyers.
Why ADOR Says Danielle Is Different From The Others
ADOR also told the court that Danielle’s actions set her apart. It said her breaches were the most serious and that she showed no effort to correct them, which, in its view, justified terminating her contract while keeping the others.
In its filings, ADOR claimed Danielle was the only member who “independently conducted business activities and created results.” It cited a planned collaboration with American group Emotional Oranges that moved into recording and music video planning, plus Elle Singapore and Omega work arranged without ADOR staff.
These moves, ADOR argued, counted as pop culture artist activities because she pursued them while its exclusive rights were in force. Combined with the alleged AAO concealment, the label said this broke the trust needed to keep her as a NewJeans artist and led to the lawsuit.
How Danielle Fights The Singled Out Narrative
Danielle’s legal team offers a very different explanation. They say she believed NewJeans’ earlier contract termination was lawful, so she understood herself as free to explore solo opportunities while the dispute with ADOR moved through the courts.
Her side argues the Emotional Oranges project never reached official release and that some fashion or watch shoots involved no clear contracts or payments to her. On that basis, they say these were exploratory steps, not a separate career that justifies multi billion won penalties.
Danielle’s lawyers also stress that all five members sent termination notices, yet only she lost her contract and now faces 33.1 billion won in claimed damages. They have asked the Korea Fair Trade Commission to rule that HYBE and ADOR unfairly singled her out, and regulators are reviewing that complaint alongside the civil case.