All five members of K-pop girl group NewJeans are set to return to their management label after a year-long legal battle that saw the members attempt to leave their agency.
On 30 October, a Seoul court ruled that the group’s agreement with its management agency remained valid and they would need to honour it till 2029 unless they won an appeal.
The court rejected NewJeans’ claim that the label’s alleged misconduct and the dismissal of the band’s former creative director and Ador’s former CEO Min Hee Jin constituted grounds to end their deal.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Ador confirmed that two out of the five members would be returning to Ador.
“Haerin and Hyein of NewJeans have decided to continue their activities with Ador.
“After thoughtful consideration with their respective families and thorough discussions with Ador, the two members have decided to respect the court's latest ruling and adhere to their exclusive contract with the label.
“Ador is committed to providing its full support to Haerin and Hyein to ensure the seamless continuation of their artistic endeavors. We request the warm support from the fans and respectfully urge you to avoid engaging in unfounded speculation regarding the members.”
NewJeans, who became one of K-pop’s most popular acts following their 2022 debut, are composed of Minji, 21, Hanni, 21, Danielle, 20, Haerin, 19, and Hyein, 17. The group is managed by Ador, a sublabel of the South Korean multinational entertainment company Hybe, which is behind popular K-pop groups like BTS, Le Sserafim, Seventeen, and Katseye.
Hours after Ador’s statement, the remaining three members released their own statement saying: “After careful discussions, we have decided to return to Ador. One of our members is currently in Antarctica, so the communication was delayed and since Ador has not yet responded, we had no choice but to share our position separately.”
In a statement to The Independent on whether Minji, Hanni, and Danielle are also returning to the label, Ador said: “We are checking whether the three members intend to return.”
After the October ruling, the group’s legal representatives had stated that NewJeans intended to “immediately file an appeal”; it is unclear whether the group will go forward with their appeal or they have already filed one.
NewJeans and Ador have been embroiled in a feud since last year’s ouster of Min by Ador’s parent company Hybe. Their dispute stemmed from a conflict in April 2024, when Hybe accused Min of attempting to take Ador independent, triggering an internal audit and eventual dismissal.
The group held a press conference in November 2024 where they unilaterally declared their exclusive contract with Ador invalid, and accused the agency of having “neither the ability nor the will to protect” NewJeans.
Ador has denied the band’s allegations of mistreatment and bullying, maintained that they had “not violated the terms of the agreement”, and argued that a “unilateral claim of a breach of trust does not constitute valid grounds for terminating the contract”.
NewJeans sought to continue activities independently under the name NJZ, debuting a new song at ComplexCon Hong Kong. The group also announced that they were going on an indefinite hiatus, adding that it “wasn’t an easy decision, but we believe this is something we need to do at this moment”.
Ador and its parent company Hybe countered with their own legal action, maintaining that the artists’ exclusive contracts were still valid and that performing under a different name violated contractual terms. The court at the time sided with Ador, ruling that the group’s planned promotions as NJZ would breach exclusivity clauses and granted the label’s request for an injunction to establish themselves as NewJeans’ management agency.
On Thursday, after the news broke that all five members were returning to Ador, Min shared a statement, saying she will “watch over NewJeans’ music and growth and support them to the very end”.
“I believe the decision the members made yesterday to return together was reached after deep deliberation and discussion. I respect and support that choice. Despite the difficulties, I deeply value the courage of the members who joined hands again to protect one another,” she said, according to a report by Sports Seoul.
“I can start anew anywhere. However, I believe that under any circumstances, NewJeans must be kept intact as five members. I hope the members grow stronger and that NewJeans becomes an even better group, and above all, that all five members are happy.”
NewJeans, whose fresh 90s and early aughts aesthetic and sound made them popular both in Korea and internationally, have won multiple domestic awards and achieved rare chart success for a rookie group. Their debut single “Attention” catapulted them to near-instant success, and sophomore EP Get Up debuted on the Billboard 200 at No 1 in 2023, pushing out the Barbie soundtrack.
In 2023, the group not only became the fastest K-pop act to reach one billion streams on Spotify but also entered the Billboard Hot 100 five times with the singles “Super Shy”, “OMG”, “ETA”, “Ditto”, and “Cool With You”.
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