The Korea Music Contents Association (KMCA), established by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Korea in 2008, oversees the fair and equitable distribution of music content in Korea, protects the intellectual property rights of producers and distributors, and operates Korea's public music chart - Circle Chart.
In a new statement released on December 13, KMCA condemned the "sabotage/interference" in the music industry and advised the members of group NewJeans (Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, Hyein) to return to ADOR to fulfill their responsibilities stated in their exclusive contracts.
Previously, NewJeans announced the termination of the contract with ADOR (under HYBE Group) from November 29, with the reason that this management company violated the terms of the contract and did not correct it in time, leading to a complete breakdown of trust between the artist and the company.
KMCA said that NewJeans' case is similar to Fifty Fifty, when an outside producer lured promising young artists and their parents to terminate their contracts with their original management companies.
Former ADOR CEO - producer Min Hee Jin is the person accused of "interfering" in the NewJeans case.
KMCA protested NewJeans' unilateral decision to terminate the contract, calling on the group to "make every effort to fulfill their responsibilities under the exclusive contract, and consult with the management company with the aim of resolving the issue through dialogue. If the two sides cannot reach an agreement, the members must humbly wait for the court's decision."
“NewJeans must remember that they are not the only artists in the popular music industry. There are many senior artists, executives and employees of other entertainment companies, as well as colleagues and junior artists who are doing their best in their positions,” KMCA added.
Therefore, NewJeans must acknowledge its role as an artist representing the Kpop industry and must be cautious when communicating with the press and media.”
Additionally, KMCA said that they are considering removing artists involved in fraudulent and controversial cases from the Circle Chart, as a response to the ongoing issue.
This will include excluding all music sales and distribution data released by these artists from charts that provide scores for many domestic music shows (M! Countdown, Music Bank, Show! Music Core, Inkigayo, Show! Champion, The Trot Show, ENA K-pop Chart Show), as well as major Korean music awards ceremonies (Circle Chart Music Awards, MAMA Awards, Golden Disk Awards).
The KMCA emphasized: "The measures listed above are necessary to restore order to the popular music industry, establish healthy commercial activities, and ultimately develop a sustainable music industry.
Severe egoism will only lead to division and eventual destruction of the industry.”
