Members of South Korean K-Pop group NewJeans attend a press conference to declare contract … [+]
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Following the announcement that HYBE label ADOR had filed a lawsuit to enforce its exclusive contract with NewJeans after the K-pop act declared it terminated, the girl group is fighting back with an explosive statement of their own.
Introducing themselves as Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein (and, noticeably, not as NewJeans, possibly due to HYBE and/or ADOR owning the copyright), the singers replied to news of the lawsuit upon learning about it in the media.
The quintet argued that ADOR’s main arguments did not explain how there were no violations in their contract and that any arguments regarding investment costs are null due to the success NewJeans had in its first two years.
Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein also claim that ADOR’s parent company, HYBE, meddled with the group’s affairs, alleging “defamation and negative viral marketing,” and that ADOR violated its contract with NewJeans after the new management team “turned a blind eye to this.” While not directly addressed, the quintet mentions “the change in management,” which likely refers to the internal changes at ADOR after HYBE reported the label’s former CEO, Min Hee-jin, to the police following an audit.
The “OMG” stars also allege that different tabloid and media outlets have invaded their private lives with “articles spreading false information, stalking and defaming us behind the scenes.”
The fivesome says they gave ADOR a 14-day grace period to “correct their contract violations” and “notified ADOR of the contract termination as per the exclusive contract.” Some articles have reported that it is a standard provision in Korean entertainment company contracts to include 14 days for leadership to address artists’ issues or alleged breaches in regard to their label deals. The members say they will fulfill their promise to carry out ADOR’s previously arranged schedules and activities despite announcing the termination. “We witnessed our managers and producers being harassed severely by ADOR and HYBE,” the quintet added in their statement, saying their direct staff experienced “having their laptops confiscated and being subjected to sudden investigations, leaving them in tears. We find it very difficult to understand such treatment.”
NewJeans will perform at several year-end music award shows and festivals before the year ends including the 2024 SBS Gayo Daejeon on December 25 with fellow K-pop superstars like NCT 127, Stray Kids, ATEEZ, IVE and more.
Still, should the lawsuit move forward, the quintet expressed their hope to see more details of their reasoning come to light, adding, “We hope the court proceedings will reveal both the circumstances that forced us to terminate the exclusive contract and ADOR’s contract violations in detail.”
NewJeans left no question on their position regarding forces against them while closing their letter: “Let us make it clear once again, we are no longer affiliated with ADOR as of November 29, 2024. ADOR cannot interfere with or intervene in our activities…no matter how much they try to drive wedges between us, the five of us remain united in heart and no one can separate us.”
Read NewJeans’ full statement in response to ADOR’s lawsuit regarding the exclusive contract:
Hello, this is Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein.
We apologize for having to release this statement during these turbulent times.
We recently learned through the media that ADOR has filed a lawsuit against the five of us seeking confirmation that our exclusive contract is valid. In their statement, ADOR failed to properly argue that there were no contract violations, and instead keeps repeating the claim that contract termination is impossible until they recover their investment and support costs.
However, we have already returned profits exceeding the investment amount to ADOR and HYBE. Despite this, HYBE attempted various forms of interference including defamation and negative viral marketing to decrease our value, and ADOR turned a blind eye to this after the change in management. This is essentially equivalent to our protecting company generating malicious comments themselves. Particularly considering this breakdown in trust, we concluded that we are likely to suffer even more damage going forward.
Our trust in ADOR and HYBE, who have repeatedly violated contract terms and failed to even fulfill their duty to protect their artists, has already collapsed. As specified in the exclusive contract, there is no longer any reason to continue working with ADOR and HYBE.
The exclusive contract clearly states that we can terminate the contract if ADOR fails to fulfill their contractual obligations.
Forcing us to work for five more years despite this breakdown in trust and contract violations is not only unreasonable but also inhumane.
We gave ADOR a 14-day grace period and demanded they correct their contract violations, but ADOR failed to make any corrections. Accordingly, we notified ADOR of the contract termination as per the exclusive contract, and this took immediate effect.
While ADOR has filed a lawsuit seeking the court’s judgment on whether this termination was legal, this is merely a procedure to obtain court confirmation after the fact. Nevertheless, we deeply regret that they released a statement misleading the public as if the contract were still valid.
Let us make it clear once again, we are no longer affiliated with ADOR as of November 29, 2024. ADOR cannot interfere with or intervene in our activities.
While they publicly announced attempts at dialogue and reconciliation, we couldn’t help but feel fear and revulsion when we encountered media articles spreading false information, stalking and defaming us behind the scenes. However, no matter how much they try to drive wedges between us, the five of us remain united in heart, and no one can separate us.
We are faithfully fulfilling our remaining schedules with ADOR as promised after announcing the contract termination. However, we witnessed our managers and producers being harassed severely by ADOR and HYBE, having their laptops confiscated and being subjected to sudden investigations, leaving them in tears. We find it very difficult to understand such treatment of staff members working on remaining schedules, and it pains us that we are not the only ones suffering damage from such an unconscionable and inhumane company.
Although we expect a difficult path ahead, we dream of a life sharing healthy musical activities with fans who love us. And we want to make that dream come true.
Despite multiple issues with HYBE coming to light even after the change in CEO, ADOR did not correct these problems, and far from protecting us, they didn’t even demand improvements from other labels that damaged our reputation and spread false information. Additionally, we deeply regret that ADOR, who has been making self-justifying excuses, has instead filed a lawsuit. However, we hope the court proceedings will reveal both the circumstances that forced us to terminate the exclusive contract and ADOR’s contract violations in detail.
We want to become brave and healthy individuals.
We sincerely thank everyone who has supported us thus far and we ask for your continued interest and love for the five of us going forward.