K-pop group NewJeans – also known as NJZ – ordered by court to suspend independent activities

The Seoul Central District Court has ordered K-pop group NewJeans members, who are now known by their new name NJZ, to halt independent activities after they sought to terminate their contracts with record label Ador last November.

In January this year, Ador filed an injunction against the girl group, who had since been organising their own appearances and performances, in an attempt to stop them inking brand deals without their consent. The K-pop label has gone as far as to suggest such activities could "destabilise" the South Korean music sector.

On Friday (Mar 31), the court ruled in favour of Ador, saying the band must not conduct any independent activities – which range from making music to signing advertising deals – acknowledging the agency’s continued status as the group’s legal agency.

Following the court’s order, Ador released an official statement and said that they will fulfill their responsibilities in supporting the artistes moving forward.

They added that they plan to “provide full on-site support” to ensure that the ComplexCon Hong Kong festival performance, where the group was slated to make their first performance with the new group name NJZ, proceeds under the name of NewJeans, represented by Ador.

“Ador sincerely hopes to meet with the artistes soon and have an honest conversation,” the label said. 

The members of the group also released an official statement and announced their plans to contest the court’s ruling.

“We, NJZ, respect the court’s decision. However, we believe that the decision did not sufficiently take into account the fact that the members’ trust in Ador has been completely destroyed,” they said. 

“Regarding today’s provisional injunction decision, we plan to dispute additional issues through the objection process, and in that process, we will supplement the explanatory materials as much as possible and contest the decision,” they added. 

“Above all, until the point of terminating the exclusive contract, the members faithfully fulfilled the contract and did not commit any fault, while Ador and Hybe (the parent company of Ador), which stands behind it, continuously treated the members unfairly and discriminatively, destroying trust. We believe that it is only a matter of time before the truth becomes clear.”

This order is part of the months-long legal dispute between Ador and NewJeans since August 2024, after Hybe allegedly forced out NewJeans' mentor, Min Hee-jin.

In September 2024, NewJeans – comprising Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein – accused Ador of bullying, harassment and subterfuge and asked for their contracts to be terminated two months later. Since then, the members have not introduced themselves as NewJeans, opting to introduce themselves individually instead.

Ador had denied the allegations and insisted that the group's contract "cannot be unilaterally terminated". 

Late last month, the five members also announced a two-day contest for fans “to come up with a new activity name” for them. They added that they would use the new name for “a certain period of time”.