Dolphiners Films, the production company behind several music videos for NewJeans including “Ditto” and “ETA,” filed a motion to suspend provisional enforcement in its legal dispute with the group’s agency ADOR.
According to legal sources on January 20, Dolphiners Films submitted the motion to the Civil Division 63 of the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Chief Judge Lee Kyu Young. The filing comes after the court ruled on January 13 in favor of ADOR in a damages lawsuit against Dolphiners Films and director Shin Woo Seok. The court ordered Dolphiners Films to pay 1 billion KRW (approximately 700,000 USD) in damages plus late payment interest, and allowed the ruling to be provisionally enforceable. The court dismissed all damage claims filed against director Shin.
Provisional enforcement allows the winning party to execute a judgment even before it becomes final and binding, primarily to expedite the realization of rights and prevent appeals filed solely to delay enforcement. In monetary judgments, courts commonly attach provisional enforcement orders.
As a result, ADOR became eligible to initiate compulsory enforcement procedures for the awarded damages upon receipt of the ruling. However, under Korean civil procedure, the losing party may apply for a suspension of compulsory enforcement. Courts often grant such requests on the condition that the applicant provides security, typically through a cash deposit or a surety insurance bond.
The dispute traces back to August last year, when Dolphiners Films uploaded a director’s cut of NewJeans’ “ETA” music video to its official YouTube channel. Subsequently, director Shin claimed that ADOR had requested the removal of related video content, prompting him to delete all NewJeans-related videos from another unofficial fandom channel he operated, known as the Ban Heesoo channel.
ADOR denied these allegations, stating that it had only requested the takedown of the “ETA” director’s cut and had never demanded the removal or suspension of all NewJeans-related content. The company further accused Shin of spreading false claims.
In response, Shin filed a criminal complaint, asserting that ADOR’s public statement describing the director’s cut release as “unauthorized” constituted defamation. Separately, ADOR filed a civil lawsuit against Dolphiners Films, arguing that the company illegally disclosed NewJeans-related video content owned by the agency.
ADOR initially sought damages totaling approximately 1.1 billion KRW. The court ultimately recognized 1 billion KRW (approximately 700,000 USD) in damages related to contractual violations but dismissed an additional 100 million KRW (about 70,000 USD) claim filed separately on defamation grounds. All claims against director Shin were dismissed. The court has yet to rule on Dolphiners Films’ request to suspend compulsory enforcement.
SHARE
