NewJeans (pictured) has responded to a lawsuit filed by Hybe’s Ador over an increasingly ugly contract dispute. Photo Credit: TenAsia
The high-stakes Ador v. NewJeans contract dispute keeps getting uglier, as the K-pop group is now doubling down on its move to unilaterally terminate the deal.
NewJeans today fired back against Ador – and underscored the belief that it’d already split from the Hybe subsidiary for good. As we previously covered, said Hybe subsidiary levied a lawsuit earlier this week over the five-piece act’s decision to nix the agreement at hand.
Far from coming out of left field, that bold maneuver was months in the making; a conflict between ousted Ador head Min Hee-jin (who’s still spearheading legal actions of her own) and Hybe has made headlines throughout 2024.
Even in its early stages, the much-publicized showdown was accompanied by pressing questions about precisely how NewJeans members, having long worked with Min, would respond. Admittedly, we weren’t exactly without evidence of which side NewJeans would take.
But the talent behind “Supernatural” eliminated all doubt with a November ultimatum calling for Min’s reinstatement and then, when the sought outcome failed to materialize, an announcement last week of the contract’s “termination.”
Unsurprisingly, while NewJeans is eager to put its time with Ador in the rearview, the K-pop company isn’t letting a commercially prominent and allegedly still-signed act walk away without a fight. NewJeans, Ador has claimed (via statements and the mentioned lawsuit) in more words, has no cause to terminate the deal and remains under contract into 2029.
According to NewJeans, however, that’s simply not the case, and Ador allegedly caused the termination by committing multiple contractual violations relating to promotion, personnel, and other areas.
Notably, NewJeans, currently fulfilling what it says are its final obligations under the pact, maintains that Hybe and Ador haven’t refuted these allegations. Instead, the businesses have allegedly focused on the group’s purported failure to recoup under the deal.
But NewJeans says Hybe and Ador have recovered their investments and then some. And on top of calling out Ador’s alleged mistreatment of behind-the-scenes professionals amid the termination tiff, NewJeans has further painted the forthcoming court proceedings as a chance to “reveal in detail” the company’s alleged contractual violations.
“We hope the trial [or court proceedings; the exact translation varies from source to source] will reveal in detail the circumstances that compelled our decision to terminate the exclusive contract and the reasons behind Ador’s breach of contract,” NewJeans’ translated remarks read in part.
Heading into 2024’s final weeks and the new year, it’ll be interesting to see how the legal battle unfolds – and, among other things, how the episode affects different K-pop groups’ contract negotiations as well as agency relationships generally.
Closer to the present, the Korea Entertainment Producer’s Association, on the heels of similar remarks from the Korea Management Association, today put out a statement condemning NewJeans’ position and voicing support for Hybe/Ador.