According to Chosun, on the evening of March 23, girl group NewJeans appeared at the ComplexCon 2025 music festival held in Hong Kong (China) under the name NJZ and sold goods using the NJZ brand.
This is the new group name that the 5 members announced to officially use since February this year, after they unilaterally terminated their contract with ADOR Company (under HYBE Group) in November 2024.
ADOR has filed a temporary ban to maintain the companys management rights and prohibit NewJeans from signing advertising contracts, which means preventing NewJeans from engaging in commercial activities under the NJZ name without the companys consent.
On March 21, the temporary ban application submitted by ADOR was accepted by the court. But after only 2 days, NewJeans took action to reverse the court's verdict.
On the evening of March 23, 5 female idols introduced their own names (Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, Hyein) and avoided mentioning the group name NewJeans or NJZ directly.
However, when the new song was revealed, the phrase NJZ appeared in the background video and the name NJZ was also used many times when the host introduced the performing artist.
Notably, right after the performance of the new song "Pit Stop", the members declared: "Today's stage may be our last stage for a while. We have decided to respect the court's ruling and temporarily suspend operations."
They refused to continue operating under the group name NewJeans under ADOR's management and will wait until the legal dispute is over.
The 5 members shed tears when saying, "This was not an easy decision, but it was a completely necessary decision right now.
We believe that standing up to protect our honor and rights is extremely important. Only then can we come back stronger. Thank you for all your love and support. We will continue to move forward.
Chosun newspaper said that according to many sources, the plan to temporarily suspend the activities of NewJeans members was not notified in advance to the management company ADOR.
ADOR previously announced that it would send a member to the event venue and help the group as a representative company of NewJeans, and suggested that the organizers use the name NewJeans instead of NJZ.
The company tried to contact the members but in the end could not meet them.
On the evening of March 23, ADOR responded: We regret that they continued their performance under another name other than NewJeans despite the courts decision and the unilateral announcement of a hiatus.
We will do our best for NewJeans under a valid exclusive contract. We hope to meet the artist as soon as possible to discuss the future.
In the legal community, many opinions say that NewJeans' unilateral actions could be disadvantageous to them in future exclusive contract disputes.
In principle, ADOR can use actual evidence that the performance is being held and that NewJeans goods are being sold separately as a basis for filing an indirect enforcement application in court (to receive compensation for damages for the number of days not performed legally) said lawyer Chang Hee Jin of Garojae Law Office.
The next trial to determine the validity of the exclusive contract between ADOR and NewJeans will be held on April 3.
