Top K-pop group NewJeans announced Thursday their decision to leave the ADOR label, accusing the company of “mistreatment.”
The news comes two weeks after the girl group sent an ultimatum to parent company HYBE — behind K-pop sensation BTS — telling the company they would terminate their contract unless a set of demands were met.
“As of midnight tonight, our contract with ADOR will end,” member Minji said at a press conference.
NewJeans debuted in 2022 and the K-pop phenomenon is one of HYBE’s most successful groups.
Group member Hanni said Thursday that the group “has been abused, not only by us, but also by our staff,” without elaborating.
NewJeans experienced “intentional miscommunication and manipulation around a number of areas,” he said.
“This is not the kind of work ethic we respect and we don’t want to be a part of, and continuing to work under a company with no intention of protecting NewJeans would only do us harm,” Hanni said.
ADOR did not immediately respond to AFP’s requests for comment on the ad.
The team members said they would continue with their contractual obligations, but acknowledged they may not be able to use the NewJeans name.
“However, that doesn’t mean we’re giving up on the name,” Danielle said.
“We will continue to fight for NewJeans. NewJeans never die.”
Among the group’s demands directed at HYBE, which NewJeans accuses of harassment, were an apology for a comment made by one of the company’s managers and the immediate reinstatement of producer Min Hee-jin.
Min resigned from ADOR’s board of directors last week after HYBE accused him of breach of trust, sparking a wide-ranging legal and public relations dispute.
“Predetermined Outcome”
Industry experts said NewJeans’ decision was expected.
“The contract termination issue itself is highly anticipated in the market, so today’s press conference seems to have a predetermined outcome in a way,” said Lim Soo-jin, an analyst at Daishin Securities.
“Entertainment analysts have generally excluded NewJeans-related forecasts from next year’s estimates, so the overall impact is not expected to be significant,” he told AFP.
The hefty fee NewJeans may have to pay will offset the “financial loss” to the label, he added.
The K-pop group may face a contract penalty of up to 620 billion won ($440 million), according to legal experts.
The team members, however, do not agree.
“We have not violated the exclusive contract and we have done our best in our activities so far, so we believe there is no reason to pay any penalty,” said team member Haerin.
“On the contrary, ADOR and HYBE are the ones who violated the contract, bringing about this situation, and the responsibility is clearly theirs.”
