HYBE-owned ADOR disclosed ongoing payments to K-pop group NewJeans during a court hearing on Thursday (April 3) in their contractual dispute.
The agency revealed that payments have continued even after the group attempted to terminate their exclusive contract, local news outlet Koreaboo reported the same day.
During proceedings at the Seoul Central District Court, ADOR reportedly presented evidence of having met financial commitments to dismiss claims they had failed to fulfill their management obligations.
ADOR claimed that the company continued monthly payments to NewJeans members including advertisement fees and event payouts, in addition to salaries, despite receiving a contract termination notice last November.
NewJeans, which recently rebranded themselves NJZ, declared in November that their contract with ADOR was null and void, alleging mistreatment and bullying at the hands of ADOR staff amid an ongoing conflict between the label and its former CEO and NewJeans manager Min Hee-jin.
Most recently, ADOR told the court that since October 2023, settlements to NewJeans have amounted to about KRW 12 billion ($8.2 million), which the company claims have already been paid to NewJeans members.
“When Min Hee Jin was ousted, and new management came under HYBE, the new management had completely different values from the past and become a different corporation.”
NewJeans’ Legal Team
The agency further noted the investments made by parent company HYBE in NewJeans. It said HYBE acquired 100% of ADOR’s shares for KRW 5 billion ($3.4 million at the current exchange rate) in November 2021 after ADOR separated from Source Music. HYBE subsequently made additional investments of KRW 10 billion ($6.9 million) in 2021 and KRW 6 billion ($4.1 million) in 2022 to support ADOR’s operations, Koreaboo reported.
ADOR’s representatives also revealed at the hearing that the product cost for NewJeans’ debut album alone reached about KRW 7 billion ($4.8 million), more than double the industry average of KRW 3 billion ($2 million) at the time. The group debuted in July 2022 with the single Attention. ADOR claimed that HYBE had invested a total of KRW 30 billion ($20 million) in helping NewJeans debut.
ADOR stressed that they “made an investment of an unprecedented scale, solely for NJZ,” dismissing claims that “HYBE dislikes NJZ.”
Meanwhile, NewJeans’ legal team maintained that former CEO Min Hee Jin‘s removal rendered the current ADOR a “different corporation” from the one they originally worked with.
“We’re not just talking about Min Hee Jin. When Min Hee Jin was ousted, and new management came under HYBE, the new management had completely different values from the past and [became] a different corporation,” NewJeans’ legal team was quoted by Koreaboo as saying at the hearing.
Min, who was widely credited as the brains behind NewJeans, resigned as an internal director of ADOR, issuing a public letter in November in which she alleged that HYBE’s actions against her were retribution for her attempt to blow the whistle on misconduct within the K-pop giant.
“While it is true that Min Hee Jin contributed to the creation of NJZ, it makes no sense to say that they cannot exist without Min Hee Jin.”
ADOR
“The relationship of trust has been broken, so we cannot continue together,” NewJeans’ legal team reportedly said. “We hope that rather than looking just at Min Hee Jin, in the situation where she has been kicked out, we hope the court will look into whether the past and current ADOR is the same as the agency the group has trusted and whether it is in line for them to continue with the current ADOR,” they added.
Meanwhile, ADOR’s legal team called NewJeans’ arguments contradictory, particularly regarding Min Hee Jin’s creative influence.
“While it is true that Min Hee Jin contributed to the creation of NJZ, it makes no sense to say that they cannot exist without Min Hee Jin,” ADOR reportedly said.
ADOR’s legal representative added: “ADOR is a subsidiary of HYBE, the number one entertainment label in Korea, so it’s nonsense to say that they cannot find another producer. Considering they prepared for the Hong Kong performance without Min Hee Jin’s help contradicts their claims that they can’t do anything without her.”
The agency’s statement referred to NewJeans’ recent performance at ComplexCon in Hong Kong, where the group introduced themselves as “NJZ” and released a new song called Pit Stop. The group capped off the concert with an announcement that they are going on an indefinite hiatus after a court in Seoul issued an injunction preventing them from operating independently from their label.
“It is really hard for us to say this, but this might be our last performance for a little while. Out of respect for the court’s decision, we’ve decided to pause all our activities for now,” the group told fans.
The next hearing is scheduled for April 9.
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