The members of NewJeans (Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein) have responded to the appeal made by Korean popular music organizations advocating for stronger protections of exclusive contracts in K-pop.
On the 19th, the NewJeans members’ representatives addressed the statement released by five industry groups—the Korea Entertainment Management Association, the Korea Entertainment Producers Association, the Korea Music Labels Industry Association, the Korea Record Industry Association, and the Korea Music Content Association. They stated, “It is regrettable that they are making statements that could compromise the fairness of the trial by treating unconfirmed matters as established facts, despite knowing that neither the preliminary injunction nor the main trial proceedings have even begun.”
Earlier that day, these music organizations had issued an appeal, stating, “NewJeans, despite their contract with their agency not being legally terminated, is now engaging in independent activities. They have even publicly announced a new group name and stated that they have a new agent. If contracts are not legally protected and can be broken unilaterally, the foundation of the K-pop industry will be at risk.”
In response, the NewJeans members’ representatives argued, “These five organizations claim that the NJZ members are trying to resolve private disputes through public opinion rather than legal procedures or mutual agreements. However, the public will remember who first started the media campaign by spreading baseless accusations to oust the former CEO of ADOR.” They further stated, “It was NJZ members who suffered significant damage due to biased media coverage, as well as the fans and the public who love and support music.”
The members also refuted the claim that “K-pop will lose its foundation if contracts are not legally protected and can be broken unilaterally,” calling it “completely false and misleading the public.”
The representatives explained, “The NJZ members could no longer endure ADOR and HYBE’s actions, which is why they inevitably terminated their exclusive contracts. Legally, the termination takes effect immediately, meaning their contracts with ADOR have already ended. Therefore, after terminating their contracts, the members are free to engage in activities without any contractual restrictions.” They emphasized, “This is merely a dispute between a specific entertainment company and its artists due to unfair treatment—it does not affect the K-pop industry as a whole.”
Additionally, the NewJeans members’ side claimed, “We recently heard from a ComplexCon representative assisting with the group’s performance that HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk personally called U.S. officials to pressure them into canceling NJZ’s performance. Given today’s sudden statement from the five organizations, is it unreasonable to suspect a connection?”
Despite the controversy, the members reaffirmed their commitment to independent activities, stating, “NJZ will perform at the upcoming ComplexCon event in Hong Kong.”
Meanwhile, on February 7, the five members announced their new group name, “NJZ” (ENGAGE), marking their departure from their original name, NewJeans.