Court Rules Against K-Pop Group NewJeans In Contract Dispute

Popular K-pop girl group NewJeans was ruled out of South Korea on Friday because they had sued their label ADOR over what they called “mistreatment” by the company.

The group made headlines in November by announcing their intention to leave ADOR, whose parent company, HYBE, is the owner of K-pop sensation BTS.

The group’s members are prohibited from engaging in independent commercial activities, and the label filed for an injunction to keep NewJeans’ status as the group’s managing agency.

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The court sided with ADOR on Friday, ruling that the group, who are now referred to as NJZ, must not engage in independent endeavors.

The label would suffer “significant damages” if the group “unilaterally terminates their exclusive contract” with ADOR and renamed themselves in their own right.

The group’s actions “would seriously damage NewJeans’ reputation as a management company as well,” the court added.

The K-pop group NewJeans made their debut in 2022, making them one of HYBE’s most popular artists.

Following allegations that HYBE forced out Min Hee-jin, the group’s star producer, NewJeans and ADOR, into a heated contract dispute since August, the two have been caught in a heated dispute.

HYBE declined to grant a ultimatum to the band for Min’s reinstatement.

The members then filed a public grievance, claiming that the members had purposefully sabotaged their careers.

While working with ADOR, band member Hanni claimed last year that the group had “deliberate miscommunications and manipulation regarding multiple areas.”

To continue working for a company without any intention of protecting NewJeans would only cause us harm, she said at the time. This is not the kind of work ethic we respect and don’t want to be a part of.

However, the court on Friday stated that it is “difficult to conclude that ADOR has sufficiently violated the essential obligations of the exclusive contract” based on the allegations and evidence presented by the group.

ADOR praised the court’s “judicious” decision, saying they “eagerly anticipate meeting with the artists for a heartfelt conversation at the very least.”

We are fully committed to supporting the artists going forward, the label said in a statement. “With our status as NewJeans’ exclusive agency now legally affirmed, we are fully committed to supporting the artists.”

Source: Channels TV