Topline
Popular K-pop group NewJeans announced they are leaving their agency ADOR in a surprise late-night press conference on Thursday, accusing the company—which is a unit of top K-pop label Hybe—of mistreatment.
Haerin, Danielle, Hanni, Minji and Hyein of girl group NewJeans attend the press conference in … [+]
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Key Facts
According to South Korean news agency Yonhap, the chart-topping five-member girl group told reporters they were immediately terminating their contracts with ADOR.
NewJeans member Hanni said the girl group and their staffers have faced “mistreatment” aside from “deliberate miscommunications and manipulation” multiple times.
Hanni added that she faced harassment while working with the label and added “to continue working under a company with no intention of protecting NewJeans would only do us harm.”
Band member Danielle acknowledged that the group “may not be able to use our current name NewJeans,” but said the “essence of who we are as NewJeans will not change.”
The exit will trigger a major legal battle as ADOR told Yonhap that the group’s contract remains valid till July 31, 2029.
ADOR also said it plans to continue fulfilling its role in managing NewJean which includes the release of a new album next year and a world tour after that.
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Chief Critic
In a statement to the press, ADOR said: “We regret that a press conference to announce the termination of exclusive contract was planned and conducted even before receiving a response to the certification of contents and without sufficient review. ADOR, as a party of the exclusive contracts, has not violated the contracts, and claiming that trust has been unilaterally broken does not constitute grounds for termination.”
News Peg
ADOR is a subsidiary of the Hybe Corporation, which is the K-pop label in the world and manages other top bands like BTS. Hybe’s shares opened in the red on Friday and were down around 4.1% to $140.02 (KRW 195,200) in afternoon trading.
Key Background
Tensions between the label and NewJeans have grown in the past few months as Hybe’s board members moved to oust former ADOR CEO, Min Hee-jin, by. Hybe had accused Min of trying to take control of the subsidiary label and leaking confidential information to potential investors to fund a breakaway. Min pushed back against the allegations and said the efforts to push her out were in response to her complaints about the new K-pop girl group ILLIT, which is signed to another Hybe subsidiary. Min accused the new band of deliberately plagiarizing NewJeans’ look, music and choreography, an allegation the label has denied. NewJeans members, however, demanded Min’s reinstatement and said they would exit the label if she was not brought back as CEO. After a seven-month-long power struggle with the board, Min formally resigned as ADOR CEO last week.
Further Reading
NewJeans Label Controversy: What To Know About Dispute Between Major K-Pop Company HYBE And Subsidiary ADOR (Forbes)