![Seoul Northern District Court [Yonhap News Photo]](attachment:2da71bdd-d600-4ed7-a8fb-248e2c7a3971:image.png)
https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20250417118600004?input=1195m
Apr 17 2025, 15:03 KST
Seoul Northern District Court [Yonhap News Photo]
(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Jun-tae = Five members of the group LOONA have partially won their lawsuit against their agency regarding their exclusive contract.
The 12th Civil Division of the Seoul Northern District Court (Presiding Judge Cho Seung-woo) ruled partially in favor of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed by LOONA members HaSeul, YeoJin, Yves, Go Won, and HyeJu(formerly Olivia Hye) against BlockBerry Creative, seeking confirmation that their exclusive contracts were invalid.
While the court dismissed the plaintiffs' primary claims, it ruled that "the exclusive contracts and supplementary agreements between the plaintiffs and the defendant are confirmed to have no effect."
As civil court rulings do not separately disclose the reasons for the verdict, specific details were not immediately available.
Regarding this, LOONA's legal representative said in a call with Yonhap News, "We primarily argued for the invalidity of the exclusive contract, and alternatively argued for its termination, which appears to have been accepted." This interpretation suggests that while the primary claim was not accepted, the alternative claim prepared as a backup was.
The legal representative added that the members had notified BlockBerry Creative of contract termination in 2023, citing the agency's transfer of some contractual rights to a Japanese entertainment company without prior written consent, and the court appears to have deemed this notification legitimate.
Previously, the members had filed for an injunction to suspend their exclusive contracts in 2022 due to issues including profit settlements with BlockBerry, which was dismissed in the first trial. However, after winning an appeal, they filed a lawsuit in August 2023 to confirm the invalidity of their exclusive contracts.