Members of NewJeans have announced at their emergency press conference that they have decided to terminate their contracts with their agency ADOR.
Contract termination
The chart-topping girl group claims ADOR, an affiliate of behemoth HYBE, failed to protect them, accusing the company of “mistreatment” and the management firm’s breach of contract.
“We faced mistreatment not just towards us, but also including our staff. Countless pretensions and contradictions, deliberate miscommunications, and manipulation regarding multiple areas. A company that no longer has any sincerity in the art and music that it’s creating and is rather fixated on appearing like a well-working company despite only having thoughts about making money and don’t have any conscience about the negative effect they create through their non-authentic means,” said member Hanni.
“This is not the type of work ethic we respect, nor want to be a part of, and to continue working under a company with no intention of protecting NewJeans would only do us harm. So that is why we, the five of us, together, have agreed to leave the ADOR. And for us to clearly express ourselves before misleading information regarding this, we have chosen to hold an emergency press conference today.”
Member Minji said at the press conference that their contract would be terminated with ADOR from midnight today. The girls, however, will not seek legal action and will continue with their contractual obligations and plan to carry out their pre-arranged schedule as of now. They will be leaving for Japan tomorrow.
Danielle added: “So basically once we leave ADOR we will aim to pursue freely the activities that we really desire. Especially with the schedules that have already been arranged, we will try our very best to continue them without any complications. We really wish to be able to release new music for Bunnies next year, as soon as possible, whenever. And we really hope that we have the opportunity to meet you guys from all around the world. Lastly, we are well aware that from today we may not be able to use our current name NewJeans, however, that doesn’t mean that we are giving up on the name at all, and we will continue to fight for NewJeans. Regardless of our name, just remember that NewJeans never dies.”
The five-member act’s unilateral decision could spark legal battles with HYBE. NewJeans may face a contractual penalty of up to $440 million, according to legal experts, citing AFP. Member Haerin said they haven’t breached the terms of the agreement, adding ADOR and HYBE instead have violated the contract.
Ex-CEO dispute
Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein held an emergency press conference on the final day of the 14-day ultimatum the girl group gave its agency earlier this month, in protest against the company’s dispute with its executive producer and former CEO Min Hee-jin.
Min was removed as ADOR’s CEO by HYBE’s board for allegedly attempting to take control of ADOR.
ADOR responds
ADOR refuted NewJeans’ claims after their press conference in a statement, saying the exclusive contract still stands and the contractual party never violated any terms.
“Despite multiple requests for meetings with the artists, our efforts have not been successful. We hope the members will now be willing to engage in an open and candid discussion,” said ADOR.
About NewJeans
NewJeans debuted in 2022 and quickly became one of the world’s most popular K-pop groups, releasing hits like ‘Attention,’ ‘OMG,’ and ‘Super Shy.’ The quintet scored a spot on Forbes’ 2023 30 Under 30 Asia: Entertainment & Sports list.
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry named NewJeans the eighth best-selling artist of 2023.