NewJeans Notifies Adore of Contract Termination... "Want to Work with Min Heejin"

Notification of Exclusive Contract Termination from 0:00 on the 29th
"I want to have good activities with CEO Min Hee-jin"
No additional comments for Bang Si-hyuk

The group ‘NewJeans’ is leaving their agency Adore, following former Adore CEO and executive producer Min Hee-jin.

NewJeans Notifies Adore of Contract Termination... "Want to Work with Min Heejin"

The group NewJeans is attending a press conference regarding the termination of their exclusive contract held on the afternoon of the 28th at SpaceShare Samsung Station Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. From left to right: Haerin, Danielle, Minji, Hani, Hyein. 2024.11.28 Photo by Yonhap News

The five members of NewJeans?Kim Min-ji, Hani Palm, Marsh Daniel, Kang Hae-rin, and Lee Hye-in?held an emergency press conference at 8:30 p.m. on the 28th at an undisclosed location in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, and announced that they would terminate their exclusive contracts with Adore at midnight on the 29th.

This comes 15 days after NewJeans sent a certified letter containing six demands, including taking all necessary measures as NewJeans’ agency in response to the statement in the HYBE document saying, "(Just) discard New(Jeans) and reorganize," which was part of the issue.

NewJeans explained the reason for terminating the exclusive contract, saying, "The trust relationship has been broken because the corrective demands we delivered were not accepted." However, they stated that scheduled activities and advertisements would proceed as planned.

The five members?Min-ji, Hani, Daniel, Hae-rin, and Hye-in?each spoke in turn. Hani said, "The deadline for the response to the corrective demands we sent is today at 12 p.m. (midnight, 0:00 on the 29th), and then it will be over immediately," adding, "HYBE and the current Adore show no willingness to improve or meet our demands at all."

Hani continued, "The reason we are leaving Adore is very simple. Adore has the duty to protect NewJeans, which is the most basic obligation as a company, but Adore has neither the will nor the ability to protect NewJeans. So, staying here any longer is a waste of time and will only cause ongoing mental distress. Above all, since there is nothing to gain professionally, we five believe there is absolutely no reason to remain at Adore," she said.

Min-ji said, "They try to distinguish HYBE and Adore, saying that HYBE violated the exclusive contract, not Adore, but as everyone knows, HYBE and Adore are practically one entity. Adore, which we have worked with, has changed a lot, and even the directors who were there before have all been dismissed," she said.

Min-ji added, "We really cannot accept this. We requested correction of the exclusive contract violations, and the correction period ends at midnight. You may have seen yesterday, but the reluctant statement and showy emails in response to the certified letter did not result in any actual correction of the issues we raised," she added.

Furthermore, Min-ji said, "We have conveyed our opinions several times, but this insincere attitude is exhausting, and we really feel there is no sincerity toward us and no intention to meet our demands," emphasizing, "There are less than four hours until midnight, and it doesn’t seem like anything will change, so we will terminate the exclusive contract immediately at midnight on the 29th."

Daniel said, "We want to break free from Adore and pursue the activities we truly want. However, we will proceed with the scheduled activities and advertisements that have already been promised and contracted. We have no intention of causing harm to others through the contract termination," he said.

Hae-rin said, "I have seen several articles about penalties, but we have never violated the exclusive contract. We have been doing our best so far, and we believe there is absolutely no reason for us to pay penalties," asserting, "HYBE and Adore violated the contract, which led to this situation, and naturally, the responsibility lies with HYBE and Adore."

There is also a possibility that NewJeans will file a provisional injunction to suspend the effectiveness of the exclusive contract against Adore, potentially leading to a legal dispute. Regarding this, Min-ji said, "We don’t think there is a reason for us to file a provisional injunction lawsuit," adding, "(The essence of this issue) is a lack of mutual respect. We raised our voices about the unfair treatment we experienced, and because there was no response, this happened."

Additionally, Hye-in said, "After midnight today, the five of us may not be able to use the name NewJeans for a while, regardless of our will," adding, "For some, the name NewJeans may only be seen as a trademark issue, but for us, it is not such a simple matter. The name contains all the meaning of everything we have achieved from the day we first met until now. We will continue to strive to fully secure the rights to the name NewJeans."

Hani and Daniel also released their statements in English. Daniel caught attention by concluding with "NewJeans Never Die."

In the following Q&A session, when asked if they would work with former Adore CEO Min Hee-jin, Hye-in replied, "We haven’t talked, but I think the CEO probably shares the same thoughts as us," and Min-ji said, "If possible, I want to have good activities with CEO Min."

When asked if they had anything to say to HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk, Min-ji responded, "I have nothing to say to him."

On the 13th, NewJeans sent a certified letter to Adore and CEO Kim Ju-young of Adore, announcing that Adore is seriously violating the exclusive contract with NewJeans and that if these 'violations' are not corrected, they will have no choice but to demand contract termination.

The 'violations' mentioned in the certified letter include six major issues: △The HYBE document stating "Just discard New and reorganize" △Neglecting to take any action against a manager from another label (Belief Lab) who said to member Hani, "Ignore her" △The HYBE PR director disparaging NewJeans’ achievements △Unauthorized release of NewJeans’ trainee photos and videos in the media, which have not yet been deleted △The devaluation of NewJeans’ achievements due to 'push-out' practices △Unnecessary disputes with director Shin Woo-seok of Dolphin Kidnap Gang and the disappearance of NewJeans’ existing works.

Former CEO Min Hee-jin, who NewJeans demanded to return in the certified letter, recently resigned as an inside director of Adore and is currently in a legal dispute with HYBE.