Intensifying ADOR Dispute Over NewJeans’ Independent Activities...Music Organizations Call for Anti-Tampering Laws

The conflict within South Korea’s music industry has deepened as NewJeans rebranded as NJZ and began independent activities. Five organizations—the Korean Management Association, the Korean Entertainment Producers Association, the Korean Music Label Industry Association, the Korean Record Industry Association, and the Korean Music Content Association—issued a joint appeal on the 19th, demanding that the government enact anti-tampering laws. Tampering refers to external parties contacting artists under exclusive contracts prior to contract expiration to discuss business matters. The music industry associations warned that “tampering can instantly collapse agencies that have invested heavily and taken on significant financial risks over extended periods.” In their statement, the associations noted that “over the past 10 months, attempts by certain parties to resolve private disputes through public relations campaigns and unilateral declarations—such as former ADOR CEO Minhee Jin’s press conferences, IVE’s Hanni’s appearances at parliamentary hearings, and the group’s independent activities—have become widespread.” They expressed concern that “press conferences and independent activities by artists representing K-pop are influencing public opinion and pushing the entire K-pop industry into crisis.” NewJeans immediately responded with denial. The members’ parents posted on the Instagram account @njz_pr, stating that “this is a dispute between a specific agency and specific celebrities, not an issue affecting the entire K-pop industry,” and called it “a misleading claim.” They argued that it is contradictory for the associations to side with the agency, which shows no willingness to fulfill its legal obligations to protect the members, while the members themselves speak out bravely through proper legal channels. NewJeans notified ADOR on November 28, 2024, of terminating their exclusive contract. The parents claimed that “HYBE has openly discriminated against and attacked NJZ members, while ADOR lacked both the ability and willingness to stop this,” adding that “they had no choice but to terminate the contract, and since termination takes effect immediately under law, the exclusive contract with ADOR is now officially ended.” Meanwhile, NewJeans is set to perform at the global music festival ComplexCon Hong Kong from March 21 to 23, where they will release new songs. ComplexCon announced that tickets for the performance on Sunday, March 23, when NewJeans will perform, have sold out, which is considered an unusual situation since tickets for performances on Friday and Saturday usually sell out first. With the hearing on ADOR’s application for temporary protection of its agency status and a ban on advertising scheduled for March 27 at the JW Marriott Hotel, further intensification of the conflict between the two sides is expected.