The girl group NewJeans recently issued a strong warning to their agency, ADOR. On November 13, NewJeans sent a formal notice stating they would terminate their exclusive contract if Min HeeJin, the former head of ADOR, did not return and if various corrective demands were not met. This marks a significant turning point in the situation related to the management rights acquisition allegations that emerged last April.
According to the music industry, NewJeans raised an issue with specific wording found in an internal monitoring document from HYBE. The document included the phrase, “We were tormented by the Newr (NewJeans, IVE, LE SSERAFIM) wording for days, but it’s a matter of abandoning the old and setting up a new plan.” NewJeans strongly demanded that ADOR take necessary measures regarding this content.
In particular, NewJeans demanded to clearly identify the person who instructed them to be discarded and the related misconduct, and to take civil and criminal actions against any illegal acts such as breach of trust that occurred during this process. They requested ADOR to provide an audit report and a report on personnel measures covering all these matters.
Additionally, NewJeans demanded formal apologies, including from a manager who told member Hanni to “ignore,” and sought corrective actions on various controversies, including a dispute with director Shin WooSeok of Dolphin Kidnapping Unit and the resulting issues. The members urged that significant breaches of the exclusive contract be rectified within 14 days from the day of receiving this letter.
In response, ADOR stated that they have not yet received the formal notice from NewJeans, and therefore, there is currently no content they can respond to.
This situation is expected to have a significant impact on the future flow of the music industry. Attention is focused on how NewJeans’ demands will be accepted and whether Min HeeJin’s return will occur. Readers are encouraged to continue paying attention to these developments.
