The announcement of Newjeans members to change the name of the group to NJZ between the contract dispute with Ador Company (Hybe Group) has caused a stir in recent days.
Newjeans held a press conference announcing the termination of exclusive contracts with Ador from November 29, 2024, on the grounds that the company did not fulfill the contractual obligation.
At that time, Ador quickly filed a lawsuit to the Court to verify the contract between the company and Newjeans still effective, warning Newjeans could not pursue entertainment activities outside the exclusive contract with Ador. .
However, in mid -December 2024, 5 female idols Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, Hyein have created a new Instagram account called "JeanzForfree", they abandoned Ador's old social network accounts to communicate with people Fans on this account.
Ador continued to respond that this Instagram was opened without an agreement with the company, asking Newjeans to return to interact with fans with social networking accounts and specialized platforms provided by Ador.
In January 2025, Ador made a clearer move when filing a court, asking for a temporary ban on Newjeans members, in order to maintain Ador's management company and prevent Newjeans from signing advertising contracts with 3rd party.
To deal with Ador and Hybe, 5 female idols authorized Sejong Law Firm as a legal representative.
The first hearing of the Ador and Newjeans contract disputes was scheduled by the court on 7.3. But in the middle of this time, 5 female idols suddenly announced that they would work with the new name NJZ.
Instagram "JeanzForfree" was changed to "NJZ_OFFICIAL" on 7.2. Sharing with CNN, NJZ said they would release a new song when performing at the Complexcon concert, held on March 23 in Hong Kong (China).
On 10.2, Ador issued a response to this action. The company said: "Newjeans members announced the plan of operating under a name that has not been agreed with Ador, causing confusion for the media."
Ador once again emphasized that they filed a lawsuit against the contract. Therefore, the company requires reporters to use the official name of the group as "Newjeans" based on a valid contract, instead of "NJZ".
While Ador continuously opposed Newjeans' actions by "press release" and waiting for the court's decision, the five female idols proved to be tough and confident to win.
In many statements, the members affirmed that, after fulfilling the contractual obligations, the ador was scheduled before November 29, 2024, they "operated independently, no longer related to Hybe and Ador. ”.
Korean media is also vague when predicting the results of this dispute.
However, the lawyer warned that if the lawsuit loses, Newjeans members will have to compensate for a huge contract violation.
On the other hand, confronting a leading Korean entertainment group like Hybe is not easy. In the past, there were artists who were "limited in operation" and "prohibited" when they lost to the management of the management company.
This is considered a "gamble" for both Newjeans and Ador. If Ador loses, they will lose Hybe's leading girl group.
At the same time, the victory of Newjeans can open precedence for artists and Kpop groups in improving the terms of contracts with the management company.
This will make a strong impact on the Korean music industry - where the management company always plays the most important role of the artist's career.
