NewJeans member Danielle has been dropped from the group amid the ongoing ADOR lawsuit fallout.
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Last month, ADOR announced that members Hyein and Haerin had “expressed their intention to continue their activities” with the label after a lengthy legal battle.
Now, the label has revealed that, while talks are still underway with some members, Danielle’s contract has come to an end.
In a new statement shared yesterday (December 29), ADOR provided an update on the discussions it was having with Minji, Hanni, and Danielle. They all previously announced their intent to return to the label, though ADOR said they would verify these reports back in November.
According to the new statement, Hanni and her family recently visited Korea and “engaged in discussions,” ultimately deciding to remain with ADOR “in respect of the court’s decision,” and that Minji is also in discussions still, though no final decision has been shared for her.
As for Danielle, the company confirmed it has ended her contract altogether, and that the label planned to sue her, a member of her family, and former Ador CEO Min Hee-jin, who they allege bears “significant responsibility for causing this dispute and for the delays in NewJeans’ departure and return.”
“We determined it would be difficult to continue with Danielle as a NewJeans member and Ador artist and notified her today of the termination of the exclusive contract,” the label said in the statement.
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South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported that the total amount sought from the three individuals amounts to nearly 43.1billion won (£22million).
ADOR also said that it would work to rebuild trust with fans amid the changes with the group, and the future of it.
“Through these conversations, Ador came to understand that the members had been exposed to persistently distorted and biased information over a long period, leading to significant misunderstandings about the company and ultimately escalating into this dispute,” the statement read. “The company and the artists share the view that, to regain the love of fans and the public, it is necessary to fully resolve these misunderstandings based on accurate facts, even if it takes some time.”
In November, Min Hee-jin issued a statement a day after it was revealed that NewJeans would return to the agency, saying, “Under any circumstances, NewJeans must be kept intact as five members.”
Min, who had long overseen NewJeans’ career prior to their hiatus and legal feud with HYBE and ADOR, formally resigned from the company in November last year. The music executive first stepped down as CEO of ADOR that August. After Min publicly claimed the initial resignation was not her choice, she was eventually reinstated as an internal director on ADOR’s board of directors in late-September. Her new contract was recently renewed for three additional years with the board.
Following her resignation, Min and NewJeans found themselves in a lengthy battle against ADOR, with the K-pop group claiming that Hee-jin’s removal from the company had made them feel unprotected, and that the label was incapable of promoting NewJeans with the same care that Min had.
ADOR filed an injunction against the group in March, requesting to block them from carrying out independent activities under a different name. This came after the band independently rebranded themselves as ‘NJZ’ and were announced to perform at ComplexCon in Hong Kong.
The group would proceed with their ComplexCon performance, where they debuted a new song and announced an indefinite hiatus after a court ruled against the band’s rebranding.
The court had ruled over the summer that NewJeans were urged to honour their contracts with ADOR, and would not be legally permitted to engage in individual or group activities without the agency’s approval. Additionally, the court maintained that NewJeans’ allegations of mistreatment at the hands of ADOR had no standing due to a lack of evidence.
On October 30, the Seoul Central District Court rejected NewJeans’ appeal to terminate their contract and agreement with ADOR in order to pursue independent activities. As a result of this verdict, NewJeans are required to remain with ADOR exclusively until 2029.