K-pop girl group NewJeans have reportedly warned their agency ADOR that they plan to revoke their contracts if their demands to rectify “grave contract breaches” are not addressed.
Yesterday (November 13), NewJeans reportedly sent a signed certificate of contents to their agency, ADOR, a subsidiary under HYBE Labels. According to Korea Times, the document includes the group’s demand for the agency to “rectify all grave breaches of the exclusive contracts within 14 days of receipt”.
“If ADOR does not meet the demand for rectification, [we] plan to revoke our exclusive contracts,” NewJeans wrote in the letter, signalling a potential contract dispute in the near future.
While the specific details of the group’s demands were not outlined publicly, they previously held a surprise livestream in September calling for the reinstatement of Min as ADOR’s CEO. The agency rejected their request two weeks later.
In the same livestream, the NewJeans members also alleged that they have been mistreated by some at HYBE, including the manager of another act under the company, and that Kim had tried to “gloss over the situation” when it was brought to her attention.
After they made these claims public, member Hanni was invited to testify on workplace harassment at South Korea’s National Assembly in October. “I came to the realisation that this wasn’t just a feeling. I was honestly convinced that the company hated us,” she said at the time.
This comes after nearly seven months of conflict between former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin, who the group supports, and HYBE. The parent company removed Min from her position as CEO in August, with current CEO Kim Ju-young stepping into the role.