Previously on November 28, girl group NewJeans held an urgent press conference, where they announced the termination of their contract with ADOR, citing ADOR’s lack of ability and intention to fulfill their obligations as the girl group’s agency.
The girl group also insisted that they will not have to pay the contract termination penalty, which is estimated to be over 400 million USD.
Following the press conference, ADOR and HYBE have responded to NewJeans’ claim, insisting that their contract with NewJeans is still valid.
Meanwhile, ADOR CEO Ju Young Kim has since issued her own statement, asking for an in-person meeting with NewJeans and claiming that ADOR has done their best to answer to NewJeans’ demand.
However, on November 29, NewJeans issued a new statement refuting ADOR’s new claims and insisted that they will no longer work with ADOR.
The full official statement from NewJeans is as below
“Hello, this is Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein.
As of November 29, 2024, the five of us have terminated our exclusive contract with ADOR and will continue our activities independently, free from HYBE and ADOR.
ADOR, as the agency that signed an exclusive contract with us, has a duty to manage us in good faith to protect our interests. On November 13, 2024, we made a final request to ADOR to rectify breaches of their obligations. However, despite the 14-day grace period, ADOR refused to comply, and none of the issues raised were addressed.
Over the past few months, we have made several requests to ADOR for rectification. However, ADOR responded only with evasion and excuses. It is clear that genuine, respectful communication could not be achieved due to ADOR.
In our rectification request, we specified concrete actions for ADOR to take. However, ADOR took no steps during business hours to address these issues, and as time ran out, it became physically impossible for them to comply. Hence, we urgently held a press conference yesterday. ADOR’s claim that we did not wait for their response is nothing but wordplay.
We hereby notify ADOR of the termination of our exclusive contract due to their breaches of contractual obligations and failure to rectify them within the stipulated period. This termination complies with the terms of the exclusive contract, and all five of us personally signed the termination document. As this notice was delivered to ADOR on November 29, 2024, it takes effect immediately. From this point forward, the contract is null and void, and there is no need for us to file a legal injunction to terminate the agreement. We are free to continue our activities from November 29, 2024.
We, the five of us, have fulfilled all our contractual obligations in good faith as artists under ADOR. The termination is solely due to ADOR’s breaches, and thus, we are not liable for any penalties.
We do not wish for our contract termination to cause harm to others. We will fulfill all obligations under agreements made by ADOR with other parties before the termination date.
Our decision was reached after long and careful deliberation. We can no longer remain with ADOR, as they failed to fulfill their basic obligation to protect their artists. Maintaining this contract would only bring us extreme mental distress. We have also endured significant harm and shock due to numerous false narratives spread by media manipulation. We sincerely hope such situations will not arise after the termination.
We will continue to do our best to present great music. Please watch over us and support our journey moving forward.
Thank you.”
Source: Daum