On February 24, the Seoul Regional Office of Employment and Labor, as reported by Chosun Biz, officially closed the case involving former Ador employee A and Ador CEO Kim Joo-young, citing insufficient evidence to prove workplace harassment.
The case stemmed from A reaching out to advertisers following NJZ's termination of the contract, leading Ador to investigate A for insubordinate behavior while the contract was still active.
A later lodged a complaint with the Ministry of Employment and Labor, alleging workplace harassment during an internal audit.
In a media interview, A claimed that Ador deceived him under the pretext of work consultation, issued a waiting order, and demanded the immediate return of his laptop. A further stated that despite his requests to leave, his laptop was withheld for approximately three hours, constituting illegal detention.
A also alleged that he was compelled to surrender his personal cellphone without legal justification. When he backed up work-related data online and reformatted his laptop to remove personal files, Ador allegedly initiated an investigation with punitive intentions.
Additionally, NJZ highlighted instances of harassment towards managers and performance directors, involving laptop confiscation and impromptu interrogations by Ador and HYBE, labeling them as incomprehensible actions.
Ador disputed these accusations, claiming they offered A an opportunity to clarify the insubordinate behaviors, which was declined. They denied engaging in coercive actions like illegal detention, contending that A's formatting of the company-issued laptop rendered data recovery unfeasible.
Previously, the Ministry of Employment and Labor had closed similar complaints from a former Ador vice president regarding workplace harassment by HYBE management and petitions from NJZ fans demanding an investigation into Hani’s alleged mistreatment.
Regarding Hani’s case, the ministry struggled to categorize Hani as an employee under the Labor Standards Act, viewing the relationship as a contractual agreement between equal parties fulfilling obligations.
With all three complaints yielding no charges, NJZ and Ador are bracing for legal proceedings. A preliminary injunction hearing on March 7 will address preserving the agency's standing and advertising contracts involving five members by Ador. The validity confirmation lawsuit on the exclusive contract is set for April 3.
In other news, NJZ is featured in the new Spring 2025 campaign for Calvin Klein.