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The girl group’s five members, ages 16 to 20, are taking on one of South Korea’s biggest entertainment agencies, Hybe, and its subsidiary Ador.
The K-pop group NewJeans outside a courthouse in Seoul on March 7. (Yonhap/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
SEOUL — The members of NewJeans, a wildly popular K-pop group, are in a battle for their musical and commercial rights against their label, Ador, a subsidiary of Hybe, the mega-agency behind BTS.
The girl group said in November that its contract with the agency was now void, citing a clause saying either party can withdraw from the agreement if there is a serious breach of trust or failure to uphold obligations. Ador and Hybe say the contract remains in force because there was no violation that met those thresholds.
After a March concert in Hong Kong, where they performed under the newly branded name of NJZ, the singers said they were taking a hiatus. That was after a Seoul court ordered them to stop all commercial activity as NJZ that is not approved by Ador and said their contract would remain in force until judges reached a decision.
NewJeans’s legal representatives said at the hearing that they are appealing the court order. The group could not be reached for comment through their legal counsel.
It is uncommon for a relatively new K-pop group to take on their agency so openly.
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