NewJeans quickly rose to the top of the charts soon after their debut as one of K-pop’s most promising acts. Within the last year, the girl group and their former CEO have been involved in lengthy legal battles against the K-pop entertainment giant HYBE.
NewJeans, consisting of members Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein, debuted in 2022 under ADOR, a subsidiary of HYBE. The group and label were under the supervision of CEO Min Hee-jin, who previously worked at HYBE’s Big Hit Entertainment (home of BTS and TOMORROW X TOGETHER) as chief brand officer, and was a creative director at SM Entertainment. The group’s second EP Get Up reached number one on the Billboard 200 charts and has performed at Lollapalooza.
Nearly two years after their debut, the legal battles between ADOR, Min Hee-jin, HYBE, and NewJeans have been making continuous headlines. Here’s what you need to know about why they want to terminate their contract.
HYBE launched their audit against ADOR and asked Min Hee-jin to step down from her position as CEO.
The K-pop company confirmed to Billboard that it “invoked the right to audit CEO Min Hee-Jin and top executives of its subsidiary label ADOR,” and that it “called them to summon a shareholder meeting and sent an official letter to ask CEO Min to step down.”
One of HYBE’s subsidiaries Be:Lift Lab debuted their girl group ILLIT earlier in 2024. Min Hee-jin claimed that the common similarities between the groups such as styling and choreography. “Illit’s copy of New Jeans was not done by the label Be:Lift Lab alone, but by Hybe,” she said in a statement to Naver.
She also denied plotting a takeover of the company. “I cannot understand how legitimate actions aimed at preserving the cultural achievements of affiliated artists like NewJeans are being twisted into conduct against ADOR’s interests or attempts to usurp its management rights,” she wrote.
In a very emotional press conference, Min Hee-jin denied the takeover plans for ADOR “My goal has always been to [do] my work in a clean, confident way. That’s been my focus and it’s been difficult for me to talk about the things that interfered with my work,” she said in the briefing.
She was also warned not to promote NewJeans before LE SSERAFIM‘s debut because they wanted to make people think they were Min Hee-jin’s group. “They never let me promote NewJeans as the first girl group from Min Hee-jin because they intentionally wanted to confuse people,” the ADOR CEO claimed. “That was all Bang Si-hyuk’s doing.”
“Does HYBE really care about NewJeans? NewJeans releases something tomorrow, and they do this?” she said, adding that they had “nothing planned” without her, while claiming that “HYBE is acting like it doesn’t care”.
Earlier in the day, HYBE reported Min to the police. “The evidence included detailed discussions that Min has ordered the ADOR management to find ways to pressure HYBE into ultimately selling ADOR’s shares,” the statement continued. “One of the audited parties submitted information assets to seize the management of ADOR and to attempt to contact external investors. The auditee also admitted to creating the documents to attack HYBE.”
A week after the press conference, HYBE reportedly made an emergency shareholders meeting. “HYBE has requested an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting to fire Min Hee-jin, CEO and board member of ADOR, which is a violation of the shareholders’ contract between Min and HYBE,” Min’s legal representative told Korea JoongAng Daily.
Two days later, Min Hee-jin filed an injunction to stop the firing. “Min Hee-jin contends that HYBE’s argument regarding breach of trust by Min makes no sense, which is why she resulted in filing for the injunction in order to protect the corporate value of ADOR and its artists,” her rep added.
ILLIT’s company Belift Lab sues Min Hee-jin for “obstruction of business and defamation” after she claimed that ILLIT copied NewJeans. The company was “vigorously pursuing all necessary legal avenues to clarify the facts.”
“Members of ILLIT have been facing unjustified malicious attacks, ridicule, and slander, in spite of the fact that the members are unrelated to the accusations at hand,” the statement continued. “We strongly urge these defamatory actions, ill-willed slander, the spreading of misinformation, and any form of personal attacks to stop. BELIFT LAB will spare no effort to protect our artists and employees.”
South Korean courts ruled that it did not have enough evidence to justify Min Hee-jin’s dismissal saying that “evidence and rationale were not sufficient to back the company’s case for Min’s dismissal.”
In response to the ruling, Min’s attorneys implored HYBE to “respect the court’s decision […]. However, HYBE was looking forward to take follow-up legal action. During the May 31 shareholder meeting, two ADOR higher-ups were fired.
Before the shareholders meeting, Min Hee-jin talked about her goals moving forward with the company. “My foremost goal is to carry out the plans as I wanted with no problems. And now, since HYBE is now listening to my side, I hope that we can amicably settle,” she added. “If I don’t do this, and NewJeans has to take leave until our organisational matters settle, who does that benefit?”
Min also added that changes within the group must be approved by her first. “But if HYBE wants to develop ADOR and its vision for NewJeans, then they would need to discuss that with me,” she stated.
LE SSERAFIM’s company Source Music filed a lawsuit against Min Hee-jin for defamation and interfering with business. “The label’s accusations primarily include three complaints: (A) Min claimed that she personally selected the members of NewJeans as trainees (B) Min claimed that the company unilaterally broke its promise to debut NewJeans as HYBE’s first girl group and (C) Min claimed Source Music neglected the members of NewJeans.”
On July 31, 2024, Danielle wrote a letter in support of their CEO, which Min posted on her Instagram. “My beloved CEO, it’s Dani,” it reads, translated to English. “It’s been two years already. Our CEO who really did the most, thank you so, so much. So much has happened during the short and long two years that it almost feels like we went through everything we should have in seven years. Maybe it was a sacrifice for the future.”
She later thanks Min for “always being dedicated to the work,” and to offer her support during this time of unspecified “hardship.”
“You know that we’re always on your side, right? You’re my family,” the letter continues. “Whatever you choose, I want to be together with you. I want to stay by your side, even if I’m not much help. I always pray for you, support you and love you.”
Outlets like NME, Korea JoongAng Daily, Yonhap News Agency and Hankook Ilbo reported that Min Hee-jin stepped down from her position as CEO. She was replaced Kim Ju-young, an HR specialist who worked at HYBE. Initial reports stated that Min would continue to stay on at ADOR as a producer for NewJeans, however she rejected the claims saying that the terms were “unreasonable.”
Danielle took to NewJeans’ community app phoning to voice their frustrations saying that she was in “a state of mental breakdown,” while Minji wrote that she is “so frustrated with myself for not being able to solve anything.”
On September 11, 2024, NewJeans members Minji, Danielle, Hanni, Haerin and Hyein livestreamed a now-deleted video voicing their frustrations about HYBE. They particularly touched on the toxic work environment with one manager telling another group to not look at NewJeans while they in the office building.
“We hope that HYBE makes the wise choice to reinstate Min Hee-jin as the CEO of ADOR by September 25,” said Minji. “The ADOR that we want is an ADOR where the music production and company management are done by Min Hee-jin as the CEO. We make this request as the way to cohabitate peacefully with HYBE.”
“HYBE just seems like an inhumane company. What are we supposed to learn from such a company?” said Danielle.
ADOR denied Min Hee-jin’s request to be reinstated as CEO, but allowed her to come back to the company as an internal director and have a place on the company’s board. Min would be able to produce for NewJeans for the next five years, which ADOR pointed out was “the whole duration of the girl group’s contract”.
NewJeans’ Hanni testified on workplace harassment at South Korea’s National Assembly. “I came to the realisation that this wasn’t just a feeling. I was honestly convinced that the company hated us,” she said tearfully. She recounted how a group’s manager ordered idols not to talk to her. “They came back about five or 10 minutes later. “On her way out, [the manager] made eye contact with me, turned to the rest of the group and said, ‘Ignore her like you didn’t see her.’
“I don’t understand why she would say something like that in the work environment.”
“I understood from living in Korea that I have to be polite to older people and that’s part of the culture,” said Hanni, who is Vietnamese-Australian, “But I think it’s just disrespectful as a human being to not greet us, regardless of our professional status. There was a certain vibe that I felt within the company.”
On November 13, the group sent a certificate of contents. “If ADOR does not meet the demand for rectification, (we) plan to revoke our exclusive contracts,” the members said in the letter, per the Korea Times. The members accused Hybe of cutting off support to NewJeans and prioritizing other girl groups under its label like ILLIT and LE SSERAFIM.
Yonhap News Agency reported that Min Hee-jin stepped down from her position as Internal Director of ADOR. “Today, I am resigning from my position as an internal director at ADOR,” she wrote in her statement. “Additionally, I am terminating the shareholder agreement with HYBE and intend to hold HYBE legally accountable for breaches of this agreement.”
Min will pursue “necessary legal action one by one against the numerous illegal activities committed by HYBE and its affiliates,” while also claiming she has “done everything in my power to uphold the shareholder agreement and restore ADOR”.
“I had hoped HYBE would admit its mistakes and worked tirelessly to protect NewJeans within HYBE, which has become twisted,” she continued. Min also accused the entertainment giant of “fabricat[ing] absurd falsehoods and publicly displayed their shameful illegal audit”, which she called “an unprecedentedly foolish act”.
She continued, “They framed me, a minority shareholder and CEO, with the bizarre accusation of a ‘management takeover’ and launched ignorant and irrational attacks that are hard to believe came from a large corporation.”
In an emergency press conference, NewJeans announced their termination of the exclusive contract, as of November 29, 2024. “[ADOR is] a company that no longer has any sincerity in the art of music that is created, is rather fixated on appearing like a well-working company despite only having thoughts about making money, and does not have any conscience about the negative effect they create through their non-authentic means,” Hanni told press, per Music Business Worldwide.
Though they may not have the trademarks to their names, Daniell claims it “doesn’t mean that we are giving up on the name at all”. She stated: “We will continue to fight for NewJeans. Regardless of our name, just remember that NewJeans never dies.”
Shortly after the press conference, ADOR claimed that NewJeans’ contract is still ongoing with the company. “The exclusive agreement between ADOR and the NewJeans members remains in full effect.”
“We regret that the press conference regarding the termination of the exclusive contract was planned and conducted without sufficient review, prior to receiving a response to the legal notice,” said the agency. The label added that it “has not violated the terms of the agreement” and that a “unilateral claim of a breach of trust does not constitute valid grounds for terminating the contract”.
In a statement, ADOR announced that they were filing a lawsuit, determining the validity of NewJeans’ contract. “On December 3 KST, ADOR filed a lawsuit with the Seoul Central District Court to confirm the validity of the exclusive contract with our artist, NewJeans, in order to ensure its continued legal enforcement.
Although we did not wish to seek legal intervention with the artist, we decided that it was necessary to clarify to both the artist and all relevant stakeholders that our exclusive contract cannot be unilaterally terminated based solely on the claims of one side. Above all, the decision was made to protect the trust-based relationships that have driven the growth of the K-pop industry and to preserve the very foundation of the country’s pop culture. We aim to have this clearly established in court.
With a heavy heart, we believe it is important to clarify any misunderstanding that the exclusive contract with the artist has been lawfully terminated, as this could lead to the artist engaging in entertainment activities in violation of the existing agreement. We also wish to prevent any unexpected damage or confusion among industry professionals as a result.”
In a statement via Forbes, NewJeans said that despite ADOR’s lawsuit, they can still terminate their contracts.
The statement reads, “Our trust in ADOR and HYBE, who have repeatedly violated contract terms and failed to even fulfill their duty to protect their artists, has already collapsed. As specified in the exclusive contract, there is no longer any reason to continue working with ADOR and HYBE.
The exclusive contract clearly states that we can terminate the contract if ADOR fails to fulfill their contractual obligations.
Forcing us to work for five more years despite this breakdown in trust and contract violations is not only unreasonable but also inhumane.
We gave ADOR a 14-day grace period and demanded they correct their contract violations, but ADOR failed to make any corrections. Accordingly, we notified ADOR of the contract termination as per the exclusive contract, and this took immediate effect.”
