NewJeans to end contract with Ador over ex-CEO dispute

Hanni, second from right, a member of K-pop girl group NewJeans, speaks during an "emergency" press briefing, in Gangnam, Seoul, announcing the group’s decision to terminate its contract with Ador amid a dispute with the former CEO, Thursday. Yonhap

K-pop girl group NewJeans announced Thursday that they will terminate their contract with their agency, Ador, in protest against the company's dispute with its former CEO.

"Although today's work hours have ended, neither HYBE nor Ador have shown any willingness to improve the situation or accept our demands," the group said in a press conference in southern Seoul.

"Ador lacks both the will and the ability to protect NewJeans," they said.

The move comes amid a dispute between Min Hee-jin, former CEO of Ador, and the agency's parent company, HYBE, after HYBE's board removed Min from her position over what it called her attempts to seize control of Ador, one of HYBE's labels.

Defending Min, NewJeans sent a demand letter to the agency earlier this month, warning that they would leave the company unless Min was reinstated as Ador's CEO.

NewJeans has also claimed that other girl groups under HYBE's other labels copied their concepts and that they were told to "ignore" it when they raised the issue.

Speculation had been mounting that NewJeans could seek to terminate their contract with Ador.

In the letter, NewJeans stated that if their demands were not met within 14 days, they would end their contract.

Debuted in July 2022, NewJeans became a K-pop sensation with their songs now loved by many fans around the world, including "Attention," "Hype Boy," "Ditto" and "Super Shy." (Yonhap)