On December 25, five female Kpop idols Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein appeared on the Christmas special of “Kim Hyun Jung's News Show,” broadcast on CBS Standard FM.
During the broadcast, host Kim Hyun Jung introduced the members without mentioning the group name “NewJeans”. This move is believed to be because NewJeans is having a contract dispute with ADOR Company (part of HYBE Group).
Hanni performed a new, self-composed song called “Darling Darling” and emotionally expressed, “It was a really difficult time for us, and the song means a lot to me. So I felt like the way the song was released was important. It was hard every time I performed it. It felt like the wound had not healed yet.”
However, after the broadcast, one of the most noticed details was Minji's outfit.
She wore a T-shirt with the name of former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin, and pictures of Min Hee Jin at a press conference in late April, after the conflict with HYBE broke out.
In the middle of the shirt is a picture of the 5 NewJeans members, along with the saying "Entering a match", and the message that Min Hee Jin sent to HYBE President Bang Si Hyuk: "Are you happy?".
The audience thinks that Minji is once again clearly showing her attitude of standing on Min Hee Jin's side.
Previously, when the news that NewJeans would appear on “Kim Hyun Jung's News Show” spread, ADOR Company issued a statement: "The artist decided to appear without prior discussion with the company."
After the show aired, NewJeans shared a post on its new Instagram account: "We did our own hair and makeup for the radio show. We did a good job, right?".
The contract dispute between NewJeans and ADOR is still a hot issue in the Korean music industry.
NewJeans announced the termination of its contract with ADOR on November 29. But ADOR has filed a lawsuit with the Seoul Central District Court, requesting legal confirmation that the exclusive contract is still valid.
