Following a sold-out performance in Hong Kong on Sunday (March 23), K-pop group NewJeans announced an indefinite hiatus just days after a court in Seoul issued an injunction preventing them from operating independently from their label.
On Friday (March 21), the Seoul Central District Court granted HYBE-owned ADOR’s request for an injunction stopping NewJeans – who have rebranded themselves NJZ – from carrying out commercial activities outside of their contract with ADOR.
That’s after NewJeans declared in November 2024 that their contract with ADOR was null and void, alleging mistreatment and bullying at the hands of ADOR staff amid an ongoing conflict between the label and its former CEO and NewJeans manager Min Hee-jin.
Following the court’s ruling on Friday, a spokesperson from ADOR told MBW in an emailed statement: “We express our sincere gratitude for the court’s judicious decision to grant the preliminary injunction.”
“We will be fully present at ComplexCon this weekend to guarantee the performance is presented under the NewJeans name. We eagerly anticipate meeting with the artists for a heartfelt conversation at the earliest opportunity.”
However, on Sunday, the five-member band performed as NJZ, rather than NewJeans, and shocked their audience of 11,000 at ComplexCon in Hong Kong by announcing their decision to “pause all activities” following their performance, which included the debut of a new song, Pit Stop, multiple news outlets reported.
“Out of respect for the court’s decision, we’ve decided to pause all our activities for now. It wasn’t an easy decision, but we believe this is something we need to do at this moment.”
NewJeans
“It is really hard for us to say this, but this might be our last performance for a little while. Out of respect for the court’s decision, we’ve decided to pause all our activities for now. It wasn’t an easy decision, but we believe this is something we need to do at this moment,” the band members said in a statement following their performance.
“We surely believe that standing up for our dignity, our rights and everything we deeply care about is something we had to do, and that belief will not change,” NJZ/NewJeans added.
The band announced their decision after the members said they “plan to dispute additional issues through the objection process, and in that process, we will supplement the explanatory materials as much as possible and contest the decision.”
“As we have repeatedly stated before, we, NJZ, cannot continue to work with an agency that has insulted our character and belittled our achievements, regardless of monetary issues. Once again, we would like to state that the reason we are pursuing this lawsuit is to protect our values and rights,” the band said in a statement on Friday following the court ruling.
CNN reported Monday (March 24) that despite the ruling, elements of the new NJZ branding appeared in the group’s Hong Kong performance, with some band members wearing tights saying ‘Chapter NJZ.’ The group also reportedly avoided playing songs from their back catalog, and instead performed solo covers before debuting their new track.
“We regret the members’ decision to proceed with a performance under a name other than NewJeans, despite the court order, and their unilateral announcement of a suspension of activities.”
ADOR
In response to the band’s announcement on Sunday, ADOR said in a statement issued to MBW: “We regret the members’ decision to proceed with a performance under a name other than NewJeans, despite the court order, and their unilateral announcement of a suspension of activities.
“ADOR is fully committed to supporting NewJeans, consistent with the terms of our legally valid exclusive contract. We hope to meet with the artists as soon as possible to discuss the path forward.”
The conflict with NewJeans comes at a challenging time for HYBE, which recently reported that it swung to a net loss of KRW 3.38 billion ($2.48 million) in 2024, versus a net profit of KRW 183.45 billion in 2023, amid rising costs and weakness in its recorded music segment.
The company has attributed part of this decline to BTS‘s temporary break from group activities. The group once generated up to 95% of company revenues but contributed less than 20% in 2024.
ADOR and NewJeans are set to face off in court on April 3, which will determine the long-term future of the relationship between the K-pop group and the HYBE label.
Below is NewJeans’ full statement at ComplexCon, obtained by Soompi:
This stage means so much to us and every single one of you who gives us strength just by being here. It is really hard for us to say this, but this might be our last performance for a little while. Out of respect for the court’s decision, we’ve decided to pause all our activities for now. It wasn’t an easy decision, but we believe this is something we need to do at this moment.
Honestly, we’ve known from the start that this journey wasn’t going to be easy and even though we accept the court’s ruling and this whole process, we had to speak up to protect the values that we believe in, and that was a choice that we don’t regret at all. We surely believe that standing up for our dignity, our rights and everything we deeply care about is something we had to do, and that belief will not change.
We understand and know that today’s news might be disappointing or upsetting but it was not an easy decision for us to make either. But at the moment for us, it’s about protecting ourselves so that we can come back even stronger.
There was a lot that we had to go through… things that really we only know about. But even [through] all that, there are so many things that we wanted to share with you guys and so many fun plans that we are excited to announce. But right now, though, it feels too hard to keep going at this pace, and as strong as we are trying to stay, it has honestly taken a bit of mental and emotional toll on us. However, this doesn’t mean that we are going to give up. We will keep pushing forward no matter what, and coming to Hong Kong and receiving all this love and support from you guys at ComplexCon gave us so much strength.
Right now, our hearts are a little bit worn out, and it feels a bit too hard to keep going at this pace. But that doesn’t mean we’re going to give up; we’re going to keep going. With this decision we’ve made, we’re respecting the court’s decision, and for now, it’s just us taking a step back to pause, take a breath and gather our hearts and ourselves before moving forward.
To everybody who has been believing in us and supporting us through everything from the bottom of our hearts, thank you, and we love you so, so, so, so much, and we can’t express how grateful we are, and we promise, no matter what the circumstances we will meet again soon.
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