Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images
After a drawn-out battle to leave their record label ADOR, NewJeans have announced that they’ll be resuming activities with their record label. On Wednesday, ADOR announced in a statement that members Hyein and Haerin agreed to resume working with the label after “thoughtful consideration with their respective families and thorough discussions with ADOR.” Other outlets have reported that remaining members Danielle, Minji, and Hanni also agreed to resume activities with ADOR. The FADER has reached out to ADOR representatives for confirmation and comment.
This decision wraps up a yearlong lawsuit in which the girl group attempted to extricate themselves from the exclusive contract they signed with label, which they previously accused of bullying and unfair treatment. In October, the South Korean court ruled in favor of ADOR, stating that the K-pop group had no standing to terminate their management contract with ADOR. NewJeans initially stated they’d appeal the decision, though that’s clearly changed in recent days.
The legal battle was also prompted by the 2024 firing of former ADOR CEO and NewJeans creative director Min Hee-jin which NewJeans argued left a managerial vacuum at the label. In response to this point, the Seoul court ruled that Min’s departure “does not in itself mean that a managerial vacuum was created or that Ador became incapable of fulfilling its contractual obligations.”
In September 2024, the five NewJeans members announced in a surprise press conference that they intended to dissolve their ADOR contract over Min’s firing and alleged bullying at the company. Later, the members debuted a new group name, NJZ, and performed independently at a music festival in Hong Kong. ADOR responded with a lawsuit asking the court to reaffirm their contract and injunctions preventing the members from further independent activities. In February 2025, the Seoul court granted the injunctions.
