The 16-year-old Hyein (leftmost) is the youngest member of K-pop girl group NewJeans (or NJZ). Images: X/@NewJeans_ADOR
As the dispute between NewJeans and HYBE subsidiary ADOR continues to escalate, it was recently reported that the father of Hyein — who was the only one to oppose the lawsuit to terminate the group’s exclusive contract with the agency — has had his parental rights revoked in relation to the case.
NewJeans and ADOR have been embroiled in a legal dispute over the exclusive contract since November of last year. On April 3, the Seoul Central District Court held the initial hearing for the agency’s lawsuit seeking confirmation of the validity of its contract with the group. During the hearing, it was revealed for the first time that there had been a disagreement between the parents of one of the members. If the person directly involved in the lawsuit is a minor, parental authority is jointly exercised by both parents, and in this case, one parent did not agree with the lawsuit.
Among the NewJeans members, Hyein and Haerin are minors, and it was confirmed that Hyein’s father has opposed the lawsuit against ADOR.
Due to differing opinions between Hyein’s parents regarding the legal dispute, Hyein’s mother reportedly filed a petition with the Seoul Family Court requesting that the father’s parental rights be restricted for the duration of the case. The court ruled in favor of the mother, allowing her to exercise sole parental authority concerning the lawsuit.
Members of K-pop girl group NJZ, formerly NewJeans, answer reporters’ questions after attending a hearing on their agency’s request for an injunction banning their independent activities at the Seoul Central District Court in the capital on March 7. Image: Yonhap via The Korea Herald
On April 4, the parents of all five NewJeans members released a joint statement denying any disagreement among them, stating, “The reports of discord among the members’ parents are completely false.”
They added, “All five members firmly believe that returning to HYBE is not an option. This decision was made after thorough discussions within each family.”
The parents emphasized, “Matters of parental authority are private family affairs. We hope there will be no further malicious attempts to link these personal issues to the legal dispute with ADOR.”
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