NewJeans to End Contract with ADOR, Won’t Pay Penalty
NewJeans announces contract termination at the emergency press conference, HYBE unaware
In their recent press conference, girl group NewJeans has addressed the penalty clause related to terminating their exclusive contract.
On the evening of November 28, NewJeans (Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein) held an urgent press conference at the Space Share Samseong Station Center in Gangnam, Seoul, regarding the termination of their exclusive contract.
In this conference, NewJeans announced that they will be ending their contract with ADOR, stating that the agency has no intention nor ability to protect them, before adding that they will officially leave the company at 0 AM on November 29.
“It’s hard to maintain the exclusive contract when our trust has been broken”, the girl group insisted.
With 5 years remaining on their contract, industry estimates suggest that if NewJeans terminates their exclusive contract, the penalty—calculated as the anticipated profits the agency would earn during the remaining period—could amount to approximately 500 billion KRW (around $380 million USD).
Addressing this, Haerin stated, “I’ve seen multiple articles about the penalty clause. We have never violated the exclusive contract”.
She further added, “We have been doing our best in our activities. We see no reason whatsoever to pay any penalty. In fact, it is ADOR and HYBE that have violated the contract, which led to this situation. The responsibility lies with ADOR and HYBE.”
Earlier on November 13, NewJeans sent a formal notice to ADOR using the full legal names of its five members. The notice demanded that the agency rectify “serious breaches of the exclusive contract” within 14 days from the date the letter was received. The group declared that failure to comply would result in the termination of their exclusive contract.
In the notice, NewJeans highlighted grievances, including HYBE’s alleged internal decision to “discard NewJeans and start fresh,” and demanded that the agency take all necessary actions as their management company.
They also requested the return of former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin, a formal apology from a manager who reportedly told Hanni to “just ignore it,” and the resolution of situations where NewJeans’ achievements were comparatively downplayed due to “push-out tactics.” The deadline for the agency to respond to these demands was November 28.
While ADOR has issued an official statement regarding the case of Hanni on November 27, it seems that the female idol was displeased with the lackluster response.
