NewJeans Still Have 5 Years Left on Contract with ADOR
Members Earned 26.1 Billion KRW in Settlements Over 2 Years
Highest Settlement Amount Ever for a K-Pop Girl Group
Girl group NewJeans has sent a certified letter to their agency ADOR, signaling a legal battle over the termination of their exclusive contract. It has been revealed that if NewJeans terminates the contract, they may have to pay a penalty fee amounting to 620 billion KRW.
On the 24th, Chosun.com reported, "Min Hee-jin and two former vice presidents of ADOR estimated in March that the penalty fee arising if NewJeans terminates their exclusive contract with ADOR would be between 450 billion and 620 billion KRW." The conversation among the three was disclosed during the provisional injunction trial to prohibit the exercise of voting rights filed by former CEO Min against HYBE.
Girl group NewJeans is performing at their first solo concert and fan meeting in Japan, "Bunnies Camp 2024 Tokyo Dome," held at Tokyo Dome on June 27. Photo by ADORE
According to the conversation transcript, Vice President A said, "Assuming an average monthly sales per member of 2 billion KRW and a termination date at the end of June, the remaining period is 62 months. The termination amount per person is about 12.4 billion KRW, so for five members, it is expected to be 62 billion KRW." Then former CEO Min responded, "NewJeans? That’s not much?" Vice President B replied, "We should assume an average monthly sales of 2 billion KRW per person." Vice President A corrected, "I calculated based on settlement amounts," adding, "If calculated by sales, it would be about 1.5 to 2 billion KRW per person, totaling 450 billion to 620 billion KRW."
NewJeans debuted in July 2022 and has about five years remaining on their contract. Calculating with an average monthly sales of 2 billion KRW per person multiplied by the remaining 62 months, the penalty fee per member would be 124 billion KRW. Multiplying by the five members of NewJeans results in an estimated penalty fee of 620 billion KRW. Legal experts predict that even if NewJeans proceeds with litigation despite the penalty, it will be difficult to prove ADOR’s fault. Based on currently known information, it is unclear which contract terms ADOR has violated. Until now, NewJeans members have received top industry treatment from ADOR. The amount settled with NewJeans members over two years reached 26.1 billion KRW, the highest settlement amount for a K-pop girl group.
Earlier, on the 13th, NewJeans sent a certified letter to ADOR stating that if corrective measures were not accepted, they would terminate the exclusive contract. The core issue was the "return of Min Hee-jin to the CEO position." However, with former CEO Min resigning from ADOR’s internal director position on the 20th and leaving, her return became impossible. Furthermore, even if NewJeans bears the penalty and proceeds with litigation, it is expected to be difficult to prove ADOR’s fault. Based on currently known information, it remains unclear which contract terms ADOR has violated.
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