NewJeans Shares Thoughts in BBC Interview After Court Accepts Injunction
"We Need to Let the World Know What We Have Been Through... Every Choice Was the Best We Could Make"
Group NewJeans (NJZ), currently in a dispute over exclusive contracts with their agency ADOR, expressed their feelings, saying they were "shocked" by the court's decision to accept ADOR's injunction request.
At the '2024 F/W Seoul Fashion Week' held at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Jung-gu, Seoul, the promotional ambassadors, girl group NewJeans, are taking photos. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@
In an interview with BBC Korea released on the 26th, NewJeans shared their stance on the court's decision prohibiting the members' 'independent activities.'
Haerin stated, "This fight is necessary. It will be very difficult and challenging, but we will continue and raise our voices as we have done so far," emphasizing, "We thought it was important to let the world know what we have been through. Every choice we have made so far was the best choice we could make."
Last November, the five members of NewJeans announced that their contracts were terminated due to ADOR's breach of exclusive contracts and declared they would change their team name to NJZ and continue activities. In response, ADOR filed an injunction in January against the NewJeans members to 'preserve the agency's status and prohibit signing advertising contracts,' and on the 21st, the court accepted the injunction and fully granted the request.
At the time of the court's injunction approval, the NewJeans members were rehearsing for a performance in Hong Kong. Minji said, "I found out about the ruling when I received a worried message from my mother asking if I was okay," adding, "I was really surprised." Danielle also said, "At first, I thought I didn't hear (Minji) correctly," and "We were all shocked."
Hyein said, "People think we are famous and can do whatever we want and say whatever we want, but that's not true," adding, "We have endured for a long time, and only now have we started to speak out about the unfairness we have experienced."
NewJeans' Hani appeared as a witness at the Environment and Labor Committee's national audit held at the National Assembly on October 15, 2024, and showed tears while speaking. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@
Hani said, "The biggest fear is that we might not be able to continue this work," adding, "Two years ago, I never expected to go through something like this. There might come a time when we can no longer be active. I want to avoid such a situation."
NewJeans told the BBC, "(This ruling) is not the end. We will find 'more ways' and move forward." Minji said, "We expect the legal battle to continue for several years," and added, "We have time to plan what to do next."
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