NewJeans’ Decision To Terminate Contract With ADOR Has Left The Internet Divided

Last Updated:November 30, 2024, 14:33 IST

NewJeans shared that ADOR and HYBE violated the contract, and they should be paying the penalties.

NewJeans has been in the news ever since they announced their departure from ADOR, a subsidiary of the South Korean media giant HYBE. On November 28, in an emergency press conference, the group revealed that they were terminating their exclusive contract. NewJeans stated the reason behind their decision was the label’s violation of obligations, which they failed to rectify in the given time period.

During the press conference, NewJeans also discussed the penalties for breaching their contract, highlighting that ADOR and HYBE have violated the contract, not vice versa. Haerin, one of the five members, said, “I’ve read several articles about penalties, but we have not violated our exclusive contract. We’ve worked hard and done our best so far, so we believe there’s no reason for us to pay any penalties.”

On November 29, NewJeans, once again, discussed the penalties for breach of contract in their official statement. The five-membered group said, “The termination notice is per the contract, and we have all signed the termination document. The notice will take effect immediately after reaching ADOR on November 29, 2024. Thus, the exclusive contract will be invalid from that point on. With this, there is no reason to file an injunction to terminate the contract, and we can freely continue activities starting from November 29, 2024.”

They continued, “Additionally, the five of us have faithfully fulfilled our obligations under the contract. Because the termination of our contracts was due to ADOR’s breach of contract terminated our contracts, we are not obligated to pay a penalty.”

NewJeans’ abrupt departure from ADOR, followed by a series of startling revelations at the press conference, has ignited online discussions. Moreover, their claims that they do not need to file an injunction or pay penalty fees have also divided the social media users.

In a Reddit post, some K-pop fans called NewJeans’ recent action “impulsive,” while others supported the artists. One user criticised the girl group’s actions, saying, “They act impulsively, make decisions rashly, and seem to not measure the long-term consequences of their actions. You can’t just wake up one day, decide on a whim to turn everything upside down, and announce it at a press conference.”

Another said, “I want the best for the girls, too, but I agree. It will bite them, and dare I say they will regret this. I don’t believe they have a clue what the legal ramifications are or the fallout of all this.”

“I feel bad for them because everyone makes bad decisions as young adults, but most people aren’t being manipulated by someone they trust, and their bad decisions don’t potentially cost hundreds of millions of dollars.”

While some criticised NewJeans, their fans came out in their support. They took to X (formerly Twitter) to express their support for their favourite artist. One fan said, “Why do these weirdos act like Newjeans didn’t have lawyers from the beginning of all this? the reason they are confident is because they know HYBE broke the contract first like?”

Another said, “They didn’t just say ‘terminated’ they followed procedures within the contract itself to do so. LMAO.” A third fan of NewJeans wrote, “Idk why they are even caring about NJ leaving, don’t they have anything else to say or do for their faves meanwhile.”