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From stage to courtroom: NewJeans meets 3rd anniversary in legal standoff
The five members of NewJeans, from left, Hanni, Minji, Hyein, Haerin and Danielle, speak to the press after attending a court hearing on March 7 at the Seoul Central District Court over Ador's injunction request to prohibit the group from signing independent endorsement deals. Newsis
By Pyo Kyung-min
K-pop girl group NewJeans marked the third anniversary of its debut this week, but instead of a celebration, the milestone arrived under the shadow of an unresolved legal dispute with its agency, Ador.
Two days after marking its third debut anniversary, NewJeans underwent a third court hearing Thursday at 4 p.m., in a lawsuit filed by Ador seeking to confirm the validity of the group's exclusive contracts — a case that has kept the group embroiled in legal trouble for months.
With the hearing falling so close to the anniversary date, fans gathered outside the Seoul Central District Court in hopes of seeing the five members — Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin and Hyein — but the group did not appear in person for the proceedings.
The legal conflict between NewJeans and the HYBE subsidiary began back in November 2024, when the members held an emergency press conference and declared their intention to terminate their contracts with the agency citing that the trust between them had broken down. Soon after, the group revealed a new name, NJZ, via a new social media account and began preparing for independent promotional activities.
In response, Ador filed a lawsuit to confirm that its exclusive contracts with the members were still legally binding. The agency also sought an injunction to ban the members from engaging in any new activities under outside management.
The court later ruled in favor of Ador in March, granting the injunction in full and later rejecting the group's appeal. The decision effectively froze all NewJeans activities and has since brought its career to a standstill.
K-pop girl group NewJeans / Courtesy of Ador
This legal standoff has cast a long shadow over what had once been a meteoric rise. Debuting on July 22, 2022, NewJeans was hailed as one of the most groundbreaking acts to emerge in recent K-pop history. The quintet's easy-listening tracks, catchy choreography and adorable members made a splash that surpassed the usual breakout buzz.
The group's success was in part thanks to their ability to break the mold in K-pop, stripping away the overly conceptual, niche storytelling and obsessive identity-building that had come to dominate K-pop and instead presenting the members as natural, fun-loving girls true to their age.
For many, the group offered a refreshing return to emotional immediacy and youthfulness. The group's versatility allowed them to effortlessly move between hip, trend-forward aesthetics and nostalgic retro moods, earning them both commercial success and cultural cachet.
As a result, the singles from the group's debut EP, "Attention" and "Hype Boy," followed by "Ditto," "OMG," "Super Shy" and "ETA," became instant hits, each further cementing the group's identity.
Much of the group's success had also been credited to Ador's former CEO Min Hee-jin, a former creative director at SM Entertainment. After being recruited to HYBE by founder Bang Si-hyuk, Min launched NewJeans as her first girl group, drawing attention from K-pop watchers even before the group's debut.
From left are NewJeans members Hyein, Danielle, ex-Ador CEO Min Hee-jin, NewJeans' Hanni, Haerin and Minji. Captured from Instagram
But NewJeans' stunning rise met an abrupt roadblock when Min's feud with HYBE became public in April 2024. Tensions escalated as the company accused Min of attempting to seize control of Ador, and Min responded with aggressive legal and public pushback.
Her dispute with the parent company soon spilled over to NewJeans, as the members aligned themselves with Min and moved to exit the agency, deepening the rift.
While Min was recently cleared of breach of trust charges after police declined to refer the case for prosecution, the situation surrounding NewJeans remains unresolved. During the last court hearing, when asked whether there was any room for settlement, the group's legal counsel responded by saying they had "crossed a river of no return," firmly rejecting reconciliation.
Updates on the group are currently only available through official accounts still managed by Ador, while the members' individual communication channels have gone silent.
The group's most recent official music releases were the double single "How Sweet" and "Bubble Gum" in May 2024, followed by their Japanese debut single "Supernatural" in June. Its last performance was at ComplexCon in Hong Kong in March, where it surprise-dropped its new song "Pit Stop."