NewJeans’ Danielle’s Exclusive Contract with ADOR Ends; Resolution to Two-Year Legal Dispute

Danielle, a member of the K-POP rookie group NewJeans, has had her exclusive contract with ADOR terminated. On December 29, ADOR issued an official statement saying, “We determined it was impossible for Danielle to continue working as both a NewJeans member and an ADOR artist, so we notified her of the contract termination.” ADOR also revealed plans to take legal action against Danielle’s family members and former ADOR CEO Minhee Jin. This decision marks the conclusion of a nearly two-year conflict surrounding NewJeans. The dispute began in April 2024 when HYBE conducted an audit of former ADOR CEO Minhee Jin. HYBE claimed that Minhee Jin attempted to seize control of ADOR, while Minhee Jin strongly protested, describing it as unjust retaliation. HYBE subsequently removed Minhee Jin from her position as CEO in August, and she left ADOR entirely in November. During the conflict, NewJeans members demanded Minhee Jin’s return as the person who had nurtured them and unilaterally declared the termination of their contracts with ADOR in November 2024, citing ADOR’s inadequate management of them. This move was interpreted as an attempt to follow Minhee Jin out of the company, sparking suspicions of poaching. Last December, ADOR filed a lawsuit to confirm the exclusivity of its contracts with all five NewJeans members. Following a preliminary injunction, the court ruled in favor of ADOR in the main trial on October 30, stating that the exclusivity contracts between ADOR and NewJeans remained valid until 2029. The court rejected all 11 reasons cited by NewJeans for contract termination and determined that ADOR had fulfilled most of its important obligations under the contracts. After the ruling, the NewJeans members responded differently. Haerin and Hyein expressed their intention to return to ADOR on December 12, just a day before the deadline to file an appeal. Minzy, Hanni, and Danielle also stated their desire to return, and ADOR is currently verifying these intentions. However, in Danielle’s case, the outcome was unexpectedly not a return but rather contract termination. ADOR has already completed preparations for NewJeans’ new album. Currently, ADOR is led by CEO Lee Do-kyung, who formerly worked at HYBE. Meanwhile, former CEO Minhee Jin established a new agency named ooak after leaving ADOR and is currently involved in a lawsuit with HYBE over stock put options.