NEWJEANS
The five members of NEWJEANS have expressed their intention to return to their agency, ADOR, one year after announcing the termination of their exclusive contract last November.
On November 12, ADOR stated: “Members HAERIN and HYEIN have expressed their desire to continue their activities with ADOR.” The agency added: “After careful consideration with their families and long discussions with ADOR, the two members decided to respect the court’s judgment and comply with their exclusive contract. We will do everything possible to ensure they can continue their artistic activities without obstacles.”
Following HAERIN and HYEIN, the other members, MINJI, HANNI, and DANIELLE, also announced their return to ADOR. They said: “After careful consultation, we decided to return to ADOR.” They specified: “The announcement was slightly delayed because one member is currently in Antarctica, and as ADOR had not yet responded, we had to announce it separately. We will return with sincere music and performances.” Regarding this, ADOR stated that it is “verifying the sincerity of the return intention of the three members MINJI, HANNI, and DANIELLE.”
The return of all five members of NEWJEANS to ADOR, one year after declaring the termination of their contract, paves the way for the group’s full activities to resume. This turnaround appears to be linked to recent court decisions, with ADOR winning both the injunction request for “maintenance of agency status and prohibition to sign advertising contracts” and the lawsuit to confirm the validity of the exclusive contract.
The members of NEWJEANS had been involved in a legal dispute with ADOR regarding their contract. Last August, after the dismissal of MIN HEE JIN, then director of ADOR, following a dispute with parent company HYBE, the members requested her reinstatement as CEO. ADOR refused, and NEWJEANS stated that “the trust relationship with the agency was broken” and announced the termination of their contract to pursue independent activities. However, the court ruled in favor of ADOR, finding no evidence of a major breach of contract by the agency.
The October 30 ruling specified: “The mere fact that MIN HEE JIN was removed from her position as director does not mean a managerial vacuum occurred, nor that she was indispensable to management. The level of trust NEWJEANS placed in her does not constitute proof that she was an essential element of the exclusive contract.” The court also rejected NEWJEANS’s arguments that the breach of trust invalidated the contract. Consequently, returning to ADOR appeared to be the only viable solution for the members, as the court confirmed the validity of their contract, which runs until July 31, 2029.
During the trial, ADOR had already submitted a list of new songs for NEWJEANS to the court, anticipating their possible return. After winning the first instance, the agency stated: “We have completed preparations for the release of a studio album and the group’s future activities, and we are waiting for the right time.”
However, ADOR is not expected to assign production to former director MIN HEE JIN, the source of the conflict that caused the crisis surrounding NEWJEANS, as HYBE and its affiliated labels are still involved in multiple lawsuits against her.
Journalist: Shawn
Translator: Shawn
Source: SNS Hybe, Newjeans
