NewJeans Loses Legal Battle Against ADOR, Ending Dreams of Contract Termination

K-POP girl group NewJeans lost its legal struggle against its agency ADOR. The Seoul Central District Court recognized the validity of the exclusive contract between the two parties, meaning NewJeans is now prohibited from pursuing independent activities without ADOR’s explicit consent. Each member must pay a penalty of 100 million won (approximately 700,000 dollars) in case of violation. NewJeans, which won the Group of the Year award at the 2023 Billboard Women in Music ceremony, has seen its situation deteriorate rapidly. At the 2024 Billboard awards show, the group reached number one on the Billboard 200 chart with only their “Get Up” EP, becoming the second K-POP girl group to do so after BLACKPINK. Rainie Wilson, then vice president and music entertainment journalist, praised this as an opportunity for a country singer raised in a rural agricultural community in Louisiana to highlight K-POP artists on the other side of the world. NewJeans made its debut in August 2022. Their debut song broke the record of selling over one million copies, and their Y2K-style music sparked an internet phenomenon. It took just 219 days for them to reach 1 billion streams on Spotify, and they became the first K-POP girl group to perform at Lollapalooza. NewJeans was once seen as a new model capable of solving structural issues in the K-POP industry. However, the situation took a sharp turn in April 2024 following changes in HYBE’s leadership. Minhee Jin, NewJeans’ key producer and CEO of ADOR, was dismissed, and in May, NewJeans announced at a public press conference the end of its exclusive contract with ADOR. The members claimed ADOR had “lost the authenticity of music art and was only focused on making money,” adding that trust had been shattered because ADOR failed to ensure their personal safety and artistic growth. NewJeans (Minji, Hani, Danielle, Hyein, Haerin) carried out their activities through courts and social media. The members discussed exploitation and workplace harassment through court statements and Instagram posts, alleging that HYBE “secretly tracked them, damaged their reputations, and spread false information through the media.” In December 2024, they created a personal Instagram account @jeanzforfree (later renamed @njz_official) to keep fans updated and convey their stance. In February 2025, NewJeans announced it would rebrand as “NJZ” and hold its own concerts while releasing new songs. But in March, a Seoul court ruled that the exclusive contract remained valid. NewJeans’ more than one-year hiatus in releasing new content symbolizes the sharp decline of a group that was once regarded as a future model for the K-POP industry.