SEOUL, South Korea — All five members of the K-pop girl group NewJeans say they plan to return to their record label after losing a long-running legal battle to leave over what they said was mistreatment and harassment.
The band, one of the top-selling acts in the world, announced its intention to return to the label, Ador, in separate statements on Wednesday, with Haerin and Hyein confirming their decision first, followed by the other three members, Danielle, Minji and Hanni, according to South Korean news agency Yonhap.
Last year, NewJeans unilaterally announced a split from Ador, citing the agency’s alleged failure to protect its members following the dismissal of Min Hee-jin, the former chief executive of Ador and the group’s mentor. Ador denied the allegations.
Last month, a South Korean court rejected NewJeans’ argument, ruling that its exclusive contract with Ador remains valid as Min being CEO is not necessarily part of Ador’s contractual obligations.
Ador, which is based in Seoul, confirmed the return of Haerin and Hyein and said it was checking on the return of the other three members.
“Ador is committed to providing its full support to Haerin and Hyein to ensure the seamless continuation of their artistic endeavors,” the label said in a statement. “We request the warm support from the fans and respectfully urge you to avoid engaging in unfounded speculation regarding the members.”
Shortly after Ador’s announcement, the remaining three members, Danielle, Minji and Hanni, said they were also returning to the label after “prudent consultations,” Yonhap reported.
“One member is currently in Antarctica, and thus our stance was delivered late,” they said in a statement. “As Ador is currently not responding, we are notifying it individually.”
In March, NewJeans announced a pause on all independent activities under its new name “NJZ” during a concert in Hong Kong, to the surprise of global fans and supporters. The announcement came after a ruling by a Seoul court in favor of Ador, which had filed an injunction against the group’s independent activities.
The group said it did not regret the choice to break from Ador “at all” and that they had to “speak up to protect the values” they believe in.
After the court ruling in late October that upheld NewJeans’ exclusive contract with Ador, the members said they planned to appeal “immediately.”
“It is impossible to return to Ador and continue normal entertainment activities under the current circumstances, where trust between the parties has completely broken down,” the group said.
NewJeans, which debuted in 2022, is known for songs combining pop and R&B music. Billboard named it “one of the most recognized and most influential groups in pop” in 2023.
It also broke the Guinness World Record for the fastest K-pop act to reach 1 billion streams on Spotify, surpassing K-pop veterans BTS and Blackpink.
