The five-piece group known as NewJeans and NJZ. Photo Credit: TenAsia
What’s stopping K-pop sensations from nixing agency contracts, rebranding, and setting out on their own? Not too much, according to Korean music groups, which are warning that the ongoing NewJeans/NJZ controversy “threatens the entire industry.”
Five organizations (including the Korea Management Federation and the Recording Industry Association of Korea) recently voiced this concern and entreated lawmakers to rally behind a related anti-tampering proposal.
By now, many are aware of the much-publicized dispute between NJZ (previously NewJeans) and the group’s seemingly former professional home, Hybe-owned Ador.
As we’ve covered at length, this back-and-forth battle (stemming from a showdown involving Ador’s one-time head and Hybe) has delivered several twists. However, things took a major turn during the final months of 2024, when NewJeans, capitalizing on a prior ultimatum, moved to axe its existing contract.
Unsurprisingly, the aggressive maneuver isn’t sitting right with Ador and Hybe, which maintain that the deal is still valid and are looking to prove as much in court. But the five-piece act, far from remaining on the sideline ahead of the case’s reported March 7th initial hearing, opted to rebrand as NJZ.
Under this fresh name, and with the same lineup as the original NewJeans, the group has spearheaded a Calvin Klein deal, teed up live performances, and even teased upcoming music releases.
And while NewJeans superfans are thrilled, leading players in K-pop, which in many ways revolves around marathon contracts and multifaceted development processes, aren’t quite so enthusiastic.
Returning to the aforementioned release, the noted organizations (as well as the Korea Entertainment Producer’s Association, the Record Label Industry Association of Korea, and the Korea Music Content Association) say it’s high time for K-pop stakeholders to cease “seeking to advance their own interests through groundless public-opinion manipulation.”
That refers in part to ending press conferences (like those hosted by NewJeans and Ador’s Min Hee-jin) and appearances before lawmakers (Hanni testified to parliament in October).
Instead, the Korean-language document indicates in more words, the appropriate parties should put disputes to rest in private.
Running with the point, after stressing the considerable public pushback that accompanies K-pop disputes, the organizations’ letter calls for lawmakers to pass an anti-tampering measure tailored for South Korea’s music industry.
If the reps get their way, that law would by their own description protect the space’s exclusive contracts. “If contracts are not legally protected and are terminated by a unilateral declaration,” the translated document spells out, “the K-pop industry will lose its foundation for survival.”
Especially because K-pop diehards aren’t shy about voicing opinions – particularly when it comes to agency disputes involving their favorite acts – it’s unclear whether the legislative push will deliver the desired result.
Closer to the present, NJZ members’ parents (Hyein is still just 16 years old) are operating an Instagram account dedicated to PR.
In one recent statement, these individuals doubled down on the perceived legality of the Ador contract termination and criticized the sought anti-tampering law.
(Also according to NJZ members’ parents, the five organizations, not stopping at putting out a release in favor of the law, are teeing up a press conference for next Thursday, February 27th.)
And in a follow-up statement, the same individuals accused Hybe’s Bang Si-Hyuk of attempting to cancel NJZ’s upcoming ComplexCon show. Firing back with a statement of its own, Ador denied the claim, insisting instead that it’d only urged event organizers to use the group’s “official” name, NewJeans, and coordinate with Hybe on the show.