NewJeans' contract termination backed by Bunnies; K-pop fans remain uncertain

K-pop girl group NewJeans on November 28 officially announced their departure from label ADOR. This news came after months of tensions and turmoil between former CEO Min Hee-Jin and ADOR's parent company, HYBE. The five members¡ªMinji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein¡ªheld an emergency press conference in Samseong-dong, Seoul, to address this issue and confirmed that their exclusive contract with ADOR would officially terminate at midnight KST on November 29.

During the conference, the members shared their experiences and outlined the group's future. They revealed that they had sent ADOR a letter on November 13 demanding the correction of significant contract breaches within 14 days. They had warned that failure to do so would lead to termination. However, ADOR, in response to the press conference maintained that their contract with NewJeans remains valid, claiming no terms have been violated.

Bunnies show strong support:

In the midst of the conflict, NewJeans' fanbase, known as Bunnies, has stood firmly behind the group. Fans have trended hashtags like "NewJeans Never Die" and expressed pride in the girls' decision, applauding their courage to leave after facing alleged mistreatment.

i have nothing but love for newjeans and i hope they get to continue doing what they love to do. newjeans never die <3 pic.twitter.com/4ntvqvv3xo

¡ª ? (@ningvinyl) November 28, 2024

Credits to Min Heejin for giving NewJeans an insanely humane contract especially under HYBE. The fact that failing to complete one simple act can lead to contract termination, does show that original ADOR were so confident that they would never harm NewJeans, it¡¯s a shame. pic.twitter.com/Jo1tkjww5b

¡ª odessa ? ¡ï ¡ã??¨B (@hyeindolls) November 28, 2024

NEWJEANS IS NOT A HYBE GROUP ANYMOREE WE ARE FREE pic.twitter.com/dTd3Ajjax2

¡ª ? (@_hannibunch) November 28, 2024

"newjeans never die" well the name might die...but can't kill the newjeans inside these gurlsss ??? go gurlies...get them ? https://t.co/XtD7vberLv

¡ª Real Me (@RealMeForXIN) November 29, 2024

K-pop fans remain divided:

On the other hand, K-pop fans in general have been divided. Some are indifferent to the situation, while others, particularly fans of other agencies, have expressed satisfaction at seeing HYBE¡¯s challenges. Many, however, are questioning whether NewJeans left ADOR merely to follow Min Hee-Jin, who has her own controversial reputation. Some fans worry that the group may be jumping out of the frying pan into the fire and fear for their future careers.

We terminated our contract because Ador failed to meet their obligation.

The obligation: put Mhj back as the ceo https://t.co/W2bjBeaXFx

¡ª wonni (@wonnisluv) November 29, 2024

Let¡¯s be for real¡­ whether ADOR met the requests or not, NewJeans would have found a reason to leave regardless.

They made their decision the moment MHJ was demoted from her CEO position. https://t.co/OgmkM5qEFR

¡ª ? (@beehybe7) November 29, 2024

"we have been hurt and shocked by numerous amounts of media play based on false information"
Oh yeah? Just like those 3 groups which your "mother you can't live without aka Min Heejin" dragged them into a problem where they had nothing to do with by mentioning them? https://t.co/XmoC58jgbM

¡ª party (@runbtsmates) November 29, 2024

yeah you can¡¯t just say something is a breach and have that stick so leaving won¡¯t be as easy as articulated here. they might have to go to court where both sides defend their claim especially since ADOR is incentivised to keep them going as their only & most successful group https://t.co/8G5QJIRsUZ

¡ª barbie (@sakcore18) November 29, 2024

What the future holds for the five-member girl group and whether they will be able to re-debut under a new agency remains to be seen.

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