Members Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and HAEIN of NewJeans stated that they have "absolutely no intention of returning" to their management company, ADOR, and its parent company, HYBE. They appointed the same legal representative, Sejong, as former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin and noted, "We will confront HYBE in court."

NewJeans group. /Courtesy of News1

On the 23rd, the five members of NewJeans claimed through their social media accounts that "ADOR and HYBE have been telling us to come back while continuously harassing and attacking us in places away from the public eye, just as they did before."

They confirmed through the media that "ADOR has filed a lawsuit to confirm the validity of the exclusive contract against us and has also applied for a prohibitory injunction regarding the preservation of agency status and the signing of advertising contracts." They noted, "We received the complaint and application document a few days ago, and we have appointed the law firm Sejong as our representative."

Regarding the background of appointing the law firm Sejong to represent former CEO Min, they stated, "Since ADOR and HYBE have appointed Kim & Chang as their representatives, we thought it was necessary to have a law firm capable of responding to this, and we believe that Sejong, which is already aware of the mistakes and issues of HYBE and ADOR, is the most suitable option to respond to the rapidly progressing injunction."

The members asserted, "HYBE and ADOR did not fulfill their obligation to protect and nurture their artists," adding, "There have been interruptions both big and small throughout our activities, and in essence, they left us and attempted to replace us by packaging the phrase 'we will suspend our entertainment careers' as 'an extended vacation.'"

Furthermore, the members commented that the termination of the exclusive contract they conveyed to ADOR was done "legally" and stated, "We saw unfounded accusations against us flood in through the media and YouTube Rekka channel, most of which would have been unknown unless information was provided by ADOR and HYBE."

In addition, the members emphasized, "We aim to clarify ADOR and HYBE's wrongdoings through legal procedures and fight confidently in court to reveal the truth."

Earlier, NewJeans held an emergency press conference on Nov. 28 last year, declaring that they would leave the company due to the lack of improvements on the issues they had requested from ADOR. They then stated that they would notify ADOR of the termination of their exclusive contract on Nov. 29, 2024, and pursue independent activities.