What's behind NewJeans' 2-week ultimatum to HYBE?

K-pop girl group NewJeans held a livestreaming, Wednesday, to voice their demands to its agency Ador and parent company HYBE. Courtesy of Ador

K-pop girl group NewJeans has been caught up in a conflict between their producer and former CEO of their label Ador, Min Hee-jin, and the parent label HYBE, expressing support for their producer in the dispute.

The five-member group held a surprise live stream on Wednesday, urging HYBE to reinstate Min as the CEO of their label, Ador. Last month, HYBE announced a board decision to replace Min with new CEO Kim Ju-young and to separate the management and production divisions at Ador, with Min remaining as the chief producer.

“We found out about the CEO's dismissal the same day it was announced, through the news. It was so sudden and something none of us could have imagined. Honestly, it’s been really tough for us,” NewJeans member, Hyein, said in the video.

“And as an artist under HYBE, the company's unilateral notice made us sure that they don't respect us at all."

Another member, Minji, called on HYBE to reinstate Min, saying, "What we want is the original Ador with unified management and production. We hope that Chairman Bang Si-hyuk and HYBE will restore Ador to its original state by Sept. 25, as per our request."

The members issued their demand with a two-week deadline, though they have not specified what actions they will take if HYBE fails to meet their request.

The specific timeline for Min’s reinstatement request suggests the possibility that the group may seek an injunction to suspend their exclusive contract with Ador and HYBE if their demands are not met.

Entertainment lawyer Chong Kyong-sok said that while the two-week timeframe holds no legal binding, it could indicate the time the members may need to prepare for potential legal action.

“There is no special legal significance to the two-week period. But they may have proposed the two-week period as a practical timeframe for handling legal matters, as it typically takes a company about a week to 10 days to implement internal measures and draft official legal documents,” he said.

“This deadline can be interpreted as an indication that if their demands are not met within the given time, they are preparing a response to address the potential non-compliance.”

In the K-pop industry, contract termination procedures between artists and their agencies usually begin with complaints and demands from the performers. If the agency fails to address these concerns within a specified timeframe, they often proceed by filing for an injunction to suspend their exclusive contract.

The outcome of injunction requests to suspend exclusive contracts has varied over time, depending on the specific circumstances of each case.

Former TVXQ members Kim Jae-joong, Kim Jun-su, and Park Yoo-chun terminated their contract with SM Entertainment in 2009 after a court partially granted their injunction. Last year, all nine members of the K-pop girl group Loona were granted an injunction to leave their agency. In contrast, the court denied an injunction for three members of the group Fifty Fifty — Sio, Saena, and Aran — resulting in a damage lawsuit from their former agency, Attrakt.