The group NewJeans, which shook up the K-pop market upon debut, celebrated its 3rd anniversary on July 22. However, it is a day marked more by regret than by celebration. Their group activities have effectively come to a halt amid disputes with their agency ADOR.
NewJeans, which burst onto the scene like a comet in July 2022, swept both domestic and international charts upon debut, breaking records for "first," "fastest," and "best." Garnering attention not only in music but also in advertising and fashion, a new term, "the whole world is NewJeans," was even created.
However, a conflict with former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin, which surfaced due to an internal audit at HYBE last year, brought a sudden halt to NewJeans' activities. The members of NewJeans declared the termination of their contract, stating that ADOR violated its exclusive contract obligations during a press conference last November. Since then, they have effectively paused their activities after only fulfilling scheduled commitments. The five members announced their plans for independent activities under the new team name "NJZ," but the court accepted ADOR's request for a provisional injunction, blocking their plans.
The court ruled that "the members cannot engage in entertainment activities without prior approval from ADOR" and imposed a fine of 1 billion won for each violation by NewJeans. All appeals filed by the members were rejected, making independent activities for NewJeans difficult until the main litigation is concluded.
Nevertheless, the members of NewJeans indicated their intention not to return to ADOR. At the second hearing of the contract validity confirmation lawsuit last month, the court asked both sides about the possibility of a settlement, but the NewJeans representatives stated, "We need to discuss with our client, but the trust relationship has already been shattered. We have crossed the river that cannot be crossed back."
Following this, ADOR stated after the dismissal of the appeal, "There was a decision by the appeals court once again confirming that ADOR is the agency of NewJeans. We are deeply grateful for the court's judgment" and added, "We hope this decision will serve as an opportunity for the members to return to their original position as NewJeans and resume activities. The company plans to do its utmost to support NewJeans in making a greater leap and achieving growth as it approaches its 3rd anniversary next month."
Amid all this, Daniel attracted attention by recently attending an overseas brand event with ADOR staff, but Daniel was merely fulfilling scheduled duties as the ambassador for that brand. It is known that NewJeans has been traveling with ADOR staff for advertising schedules from previous engagements.
On this day, in celebration of NewJeans' 3rd anniversary, ADOR shared unreleased photos of the members through social media and posted a video illustrating the members' faces as animations.
Fans are also expressing their longing while celebrating NewJeans' 3rd anniversary. While the activities of NewJeans have halted, the affection and expectations from fans for the name NewJeans remain ongoing.
[Photo] SNS, OSEN DB
[OSEN]