Girlband NewJeans leaves label, accusing it of mistreatment

The very popular South Korean girlband NewJeans caused shock waves in the world of K-pop by announcing on Thursday that they were leaving their label ADOR, accusing it of “mistreatment”.

Here are five things to know about the group’s decision, its impact on the lucrative K-pop industry, and what it bodes for the girl group’s future.

Made up entirely of women, NewJeans debuted on the K-pop scene in 2022. The girlband has five members, all under the age of 20: Haerin, Danielle, Hanni, Minji, and Hyein.

They are part, with the boyband BTS, of the successful K-pop groups of the South Korean agency HYBE, parent company of the NewJeans label, ADOR.

The group topped the world charts, including the American Billboard 200. Since last year, they have been the K-pop group with the fastest number of streams on Spotify, according to Guinness World Records.

Their producer is Min Hee-jin, one of the best known in the K-pop scene.

The NewJeans saga began in April when ADOR’s parent company, HYBE, tried to push Ms. Min, at the time director of the ADOR subsidiary, out.

HYBE accused her of breach of trust, sparking a legal and media battle. Ms. Min in turn accused HYBE of copying her model of launching K-pop stars to promote a competing girl group.

After being removed as CEO in August, Ms. Min resigned from ADOR’s board last week, vowing to sue HYBE.

In solidarity with Ms. Min, the group issued an ultimatum to HYBE, telling her that it would terminate her contract unless certain demands were met, such as the immediate reinstatement of their producer.

The group’s demands to HYBE also included an apology for a comment made by one of the company’s managers, who NewJeans accused of harassment.

During a press conference Thursday evening, the group announced that it was terminating its agreement with ADOR.

The label, however, told AFP that its exclusive agreement with the members of NewJeans “remains in full force” and, therefore, “respectfully requested that the group continue its collaboration with ADOR for future activities, as has been been the practice until now.

“Historically, contractual relationships between agencies and group members have always posed problems over time,” analyzes Lee Dong-yeon, professor at the Korea National University of the Arts in Seoul.

In 2009, the famous boyband TVXQ created a surprise by suing its label to which it was linked by a 13-year contract, described by the group as a “slave contract”. The cause is excessive working hours and an unfair distribution of profits, according to TVXQ.

More recently, in 2023, members of the group FIFTY FIFTY suspended their contract with their label, deploring a lack of financial transparency.

The NewJeans group’s decision did not have an immediate impact on this ultra-lucrative industry but could “lead to changes in the way activities linked to K-pop are managed”, estimates Kim Jin-gak, professor at the Sungshin University in Seoul.

The legal battle will continue and “the procedure should take a long time”, estimates lawyer Kim Tae-yeon who predicts an outcome within two to three years if the case is brought before the courts.

According to experts, NewJeans members could have to pay a contractual penalty of 620 billion won (420 million euros).

“If the court finds that the company is at fault, as NewJeans claims, and that NewJeans did nothing wrong, they could defend themselves against any penalty,” Kim said.

HYBE’s share price was down 5% on Friday morning.

The group members indicated that they would continue to honor their contractual obligations, but noted that they may no longer be able to use the NewJeans name.

But Danielle, one of the members of the girlsband, said they will continue to fight to be able to continue making music together.

“Whatever we name, remember that NewJeans never dies,” she noted.