Who is New Jeans AND NJZ?
NewJeans is currently one of the most infamous KPOP girl groups in the fourth generation of idols. With five members: Hanni, Haerin, Danielle, Minji, and Hyein. They are known for their Y2K and girl next door aesthetic. As a girl group under ADOR, a subsidiary of Hybe, they have had a highly anticipated debut like their sister group, LE SSERAFIM. When they debuted with their hit song “Attention” in July 2022, they were projected to be one of the hottest new girl groups and a group that could follow the path of BLACKPINK. They released hit after hit, winning many award shows in South Korea and even winning a Billboard award. As they entered 2024, it was projected to be another successful year until trouble started brewing with their two companies.
April 2024
Out of nowhere, the main company, Hybe, requested an audit on ADOR and asked their CEO, Min HeeJin, to step down from her position. Min believed that Hybe was taking too much of the money that she made from NewJeans’ popularity, and wanted it all back. Additionally, she knew that ADOR would still be a functioning company, without the help and financial support from Hybe. Rumors started floating around that Min and other ADOR executives wanted to break away from Hybe and were accused of leaking business secrets and starting hate trains for other idols under Hybe, such as LE SSERAFIM and ILLIT. As the results of the audit came to light, Min claimed that she only had a concern about ILLIT, as she suspected that they were plagiarizing NewJeans’ concepts. Min accused BeLift Lab, another subsidiary under Hybe, of plagiarizing. There are rumors that she copied NewJeans’ look from a Mexican girl group called Jeans. In a press conference, Min implied that the NewJeans members fully supported her actions and claims.
Hybe decided to report Min to the police, as she reveals information and defames Hybe during an infamous press conference. Min speaks about a flurry of topics to defend herself, though she made questionable remarks about Minji, a NewJeans member, that she looked better younger. After this press conference, Hybe immediately claims that they have proof refuting all of Min’s allegations and revealed that though she is a great artistic director she was a horrible business woman, as she consulted a shaman for her business decisions.
In the heat of the controversy, Hybe released a new music video from NewJeans called “Bubblegum” and still gave credit to Min.
May 2024
BeLift Lab sues Min for plagiarism and defamation against ILLIT, which hurt their reputation both internationally and nationally, as the global hate trains damaged the future of a young girl group with two minors.
The court decided to rule in favor of Min and told Hybe they cannot make her step down from her position as CEO, based on their findings.
During a Korean Award Show, NewJeans vocally proclaimed their love and support for Min, especially Minji and Danielle. As a group, this is their first of many statements to come in the upcoming months.
Summer of 2024
Min continued to get slammed with defamation lawsuits from Source Music, who LE SSERAFIM is under, and BeLift Lab, who ILLIT is under. Source Music claimed they picked all the members in NewJeans even though Min claimed that she found them. They decided to leak the girls trainee videos from when they were minors performing suggestive dances at the Source Music facility. Source Music decided to sue Min for 500 million Korean won, or 350,000 USD.
Danielle posted a handwritten letter on the NewJeans social media continuing to profess her love and dedication towards Min, even though Min has started spreading negative rumors about the NewJeans Members.
Min decides to resign from her role as CEO and was replaced by Kim Ju-young, who was voted in by the board of directors. Kim was previously an HR specialist under Hybe. Though Min was offered to keep her creative license that was in her contract, she denied it.
September 2024
NewJeans took company turmoil into their own hands and decided to publicly release their thoughts and opinions during a Youtube livestream. They created a new channel, so this livestream would be kept secret from Hybe and ADOR.
Danielle talked about how much Min invested in them since they were trainees and continued to be an influential part of their artistic journey. Hanni revealed that when she was walking in the Hybe building and greeted another idol group, their manager told them to ignore her; which consequently hurt her feelings.
To conclude the livestream, NewJeans gave an ultimatum to Hybe and ADOR to reinstate Min as the CEO of ADOR by September 25, 2024 or they will turn in their two weeks notice and be released from their contracts.
Hybe’s CEO responded with a statement released to the public, “those who follow the rules end up as winners”. Implying NewJeans broke the rules and will be punished for trying to break their contract.
October 2024
Hanni stands before the National Assembly for the greeting incident and she testifies how the music industry can dehumanize and bully idols on no matter how large or small their fame and influence is.
However, the Labor Office dismissed the case as per Hanni’s contract, stating this is to be expected and there’s no proof of unjust behavior — just Hanni’s testimony.
November 2024
NewJeans issued another ultimatum towards ADOR and urged them to meet the demands or they will file to terminate the contract.
As news stations and fans waited for the final verdict from NewJeans, the group decided to hold an emergency press conference. Here they confirmed that the livestream was their idea and that they are officially leaving ADOR. Their reasoning was that ADOR can no longer protect them from Hybe. NewJeans claimed their contracts will be terminated on November 29, 2024, even though Hybe and ADOR claim that they cannot as the contract was never violated by ADOR, who they signed the contract with, but with Hybe.
The group claimed that they have never violated the contract, so they will not be held to the financial burden of the five years left in their contract. They have continued their idol activities, even if they were continuously bullied and mistreated by both Hybe and ADOR.
December 2024
ADOR files a legal motion on whether its exclusive contracts with NewJeans members is still valid.
The girls claimed that they were notified of this lawsuit through media coverage, but still hold their ground.
The girls decide to set up a new Instagram account teasing a potential new girl group. Min files a defamation lawsuit against the former CEO of Hybe and Dispatch, a Korean gossip website.
January 2025
ADOR files an injunction towards the members of NewJeans to halt all idol activities they’re doing outside of their contract.
February 2025
The former NewJeans girls announced their new group name, NJZ, while confirming their first performance since terminating their contracts. The girls claimed that they were confident that they would win all upcoming legal battles and for their fans to wait for their new debut. ADOR released a statement claiming that they wished they did not have to take this in court, but their unauthorized new group name and entertainment activities breaches their exclusive agent contract, a court decision has not been released yet.
March
The exclusive agent contract from ADOR was upheld by the Seoul Central District Court. However, NJZ continues to fight for their independence from the contract.
NJZ performed at ComplexCon in Hong Kong, where they debuted a new song, “Pit Stop.” The members announced that they were going on a temporary hiatus to respect the court’s decision, but their current actions could potentially hold them in contempt for the court’s decision.
April 2025
As of April third, a separate lawsuit to discuss the validity of the exclusive contract termination is still being investigated.
What’s Next?
The NJZ/NewJeans situation has been ongoing for a year and has spiraled from being a management issue to a company issue that has impacted many different lives and careers. It’s hard to say if the members of NJZ/NewJeans will be able to bounce back, as the K-Pop industry requires constant attention and music releases. Even now their competition like, ILLIT threatens to take their highly esteemed contracts and brand deals. A rocky future full of costly legal battles and emotional turmoil awaits them, a complete turnaround from their early career success. As fans wait for news, the question is have they already reached their peak or will they just fade into oblivion?