The continuing drama between K-pop group NewJeans and their HYBE-owned label Ador is ramping up further, as Ador begins legal action in the South Korean courts.
Last week, NewJeans held an “emergency press conference” to let fans know that they were terminating their contract with Ador as part of the continuing fallout of the high profile and very public fight between former Ador CEO Min Hee-jin and HYBE.
After that press conference, Ador said that - as far as it is concerned - NewJeans is still under contract with the company. It has now issued a lengthy statement saying that, “with heavy hearts”, the label has filed a lawsuit with the Seoul Central District Court to “legally confirm the validity of our exclusive contracts with our artist NewJeans”.
NewJeans’ contractual bust-up with their label - or ‘agency’ to use the K-pop vernacular - came in part after a list of grievances they submitted last month were not dealt with to their satisfaction.
Ador fired back saying that, no matter the grievances NewJeans may have, the group cannot simply unilaterally terminate their contract. The new lawsuit filed by Ador is asking for a legal order from a judge to confirm that position.
“We did not wish for the issue with our artist to be resolved through legal judgment”, its new statement continues, but that is the only way to “clarify to the artist and various stakeholders that the exclusive contracts between the agency and the artist cannot be lightly terminated based on one-sided claims”.
That clarity is not only important for Ador in the context of NewJeans, it reckons, but also to assure the stability of the wider K-pop industry.
“Today’s K-pop has developed through the synergy of the artists’ talents and relentless efforts and the companies’ full investment and trust”, it says. In a notoriously uncertain and risky business, it adds, “the agencies’ proactive support over a long period of time is essential for popular culture and especially the K-pop industry”.
But agencies provide that support “based on the expectation and belief that the agency and the artist can grow together over a certain period of time, and this mutual agreement is the foundation of the exclusive contract”.
HYBE, of course, is a major player in that K-pop industry, owning not only Ador, but a number of other agencies that have exclusive contracts with high profile K-pop artists and groups.
However, it’s not just HYBE that is concerned about the falling out of Ador and NewJeans. Industry trade body the Korea Management Federation put out a statement earlier this week criticising NewJeans’ decision to unilaterally announce they were terminating their deal.
“The entertainment industry thrives on mutual respect for exclusive contracts between artists and their agencies”, the trade group said. “These agreements are built on decades of accumulated trust and understanding. A dispute cannot simply nullify these contracts - it is not a valid condition for termination”.
In its statement, Ador says that - if its contract with NewJeans is not upheld - “the agency’s efforts, which have endured long periods of uncertainty and provided total trust in the form of investment, will be rendered powerless and irrecoverable”.
That would mean that the kind of “systematic support, investment and system enhancement” provided by agencies like Ador “can no longer be expected, and we are most concerned that the virtuous cycle of growth in the K-pop industry, which has rapidly developed through the sweat and dreams of many, will be disrupted”.
Ador’s public falling out with NewJeans is an extension of the very public feud between HYBE and the co-founder and former CEO of the label, Min Hee-jin, who was pushed out of the CEO role in August. Earlier this week she strongly denied allegations that she was involved in NewJeans’ decision to announce they were terminating their Ador contract.