NewJeans calls for contract termination in press conference; agency ADOR responds amidst tension

Will the conflict between label ADOR (and by extension HYBE, the conglomerate) and K-pop group NewJeans come to an end? While there is no definite answer to this, but on November 28, the five members of the girl group¡ªHanni, Minji, Haerin, Danielle, and Hyein¡ªconveyed their desire to terminate their contract with the agency via a press conference. They stated that they want to leave due to "mistreatment" and "manipulation" by the agency.

This is the latest development in the ongoing feud between former NewJeans producer (and former ADOR CEO) Min Hee-Jin and HYBE chairman Bang Si-hyuk. For those who do not know, according to HYBE, Min attempted a hostile takeover of ADOR while Min claimed that NewJeans was plagiarized and overlooked in favour of other HYBE girl groups, and that she faced retaliation for defending the group's interests.

NewJeans statements:

At the press conference Hanni said, "This is not the type of work ethic we respect and not one we want to be a part of, and to continue working under a company with no intention of protecting NewJeans would only do us harm". The band, however, said that they wish to fulfil their contractual obligations, then go independent with Min and this means they may not be allowed to call themselves NewJeans anymore. However, the girls announced they will fight to reclaim the group name.

NewJeans contracts with ADOR will be terminated as of midnight on the 29th:

"ADOR neither has the will nor the ability to protect NewJeans" pic.twitter.com/pkftYP2U3A

¡ª About Music (@AboutMusicYT) November 28, 2024

When asked about the penalty fees they need to pay to the agnecy for the termination of contract before it ends, the girls said, "We have not violated our exclusive contract and have given our best in all our activities, so we do not need to pay any penalty fees. Rather, it is ADOR and HYBE who should be paying the penalties".

ADOR's response:

In response to these issues, ADOR stated, according to Soompi, that NewJeans had no valid grounds for announcing the termination of their contracts. The agency also expressed regret over the press conference, which was held without proper review or agreement on the details. The HYBE subsidiary managing the group further asserted that they had not violated the terms of the contract.

"We regret that a press conference to announce the termination of the exclusive contract was planned and conducted even before receiving a response to the certification of contents and without sufficient review. ADOR, as a part of the exclusive contracts, has not violated the contracts, and claiming that trust has been unilaterally broken does not constitute grounds for termination," the agency said in a statement.

ADOR releases a statement following NewJeans' press conference:

"We regret that we planned and held a press conference on the termination of our exclusive contract without sufficient review before receiving a response to our certified mail.

The exclusive contract signed between¡­ pic.twitter.com/bsbuRYrdlW

¡ª About Music (@AboutMusicYT) November 28, 2024

They confirmed that the contracts with NewJeans are still in effect and further mentioned that they had tried to arrange meetings with the members but were unsuccessful. "We hope that even now, we can open our hearts and have sincere conversations together. ADOR will do our best to support NewJeans in their activities and help them grow further as global artists."

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