NewJeans is one of the most popular K-pop girl groups, known for their distinctive blend of 1990s R&B grooves and earworm pop hooks. Sadly, now they find themselves in a legal dispute with their former agency, Ador. A South Korean court has issued Ador an injunction preventing NewJeans from. This order forbids NewJeans from doing anything on their own—including producing music, entering into ad contracts and so on. This ruling comes amid a bitter public feud between the order and their parent company, Hybe. The quintet is made up of members Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin and Hyein.
In 2023, NewJeans were already named as the eighth largest-selling act in the world, highlighting their sudden impact on the K-pop landscape. Even with their commercial achievement, the collective soon turned against Ador, alleging harassment and intentional professional sabotage. To this effect, they released an ultimatum calling for the re-appointment of their inspirator, Min Hee-Jin. In response, Hybe would not meet this demand, leading NewJeans to take their complaints to social media and express their frustrations with the agency.
In light of these defection and labor rights developments, NewJeans made their exit from Ador public at a November press conference. Undeterred, they rebranded themselves as NJZ and started booking their own shows. The practitioners’ group has chosen to make their grievances public. This bold move puts them light-years ahead in their relationship with Ador and Hybe.
If that recent court ruling against NewJeans holds true, that will stop the release of NewJeans’ new song. It was supposed to fall this Sunday. As long as the injunction prevents them from doing anything outside of these directly court-ordered activities, it’s unclear what the future holds for their creative work. This legal blow puts their future advertising contracts and other partnerships in jeopardy.
Before this, the 5-member group had made history by being nominated for Best Group at last year’s MTV VMAs. Their journey from emerging stars in the K-pop scene to embroiled figures in a legal dispute highlights the complexities and challenges faced by artists in the global music industry.