Insider’s Concerns Over NewJeans Crisis, “Members’ Lack Of K-pop Business Understanding & Negative Influence”
As 2025 begins, the girl group NewJeans has signaled more aggressive moves in their exclusive contract dispute with ADOR. Claiming that their contract with ADOR was already terminated on November 29th of last year, NewJeans has initiated a search for a new group name without an agency.
In the meantime, former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin, who took the lead in criticizing HYBE and ADOR, remains silent and has yet to provide any stance regarding the ongoing ‘NewJeans Crisis.
How do insiders of the K-pop industry view the current situation as Min Hee-jin is becoming more silent while NewJeans’ voices are getting louder? Following NewJeans and Min Hee-jin issues, the Korea Music Content Association (KMCA) declared last year that they would not provide digital and physical sales data for artists involved in such controversies. This means being embroiled in such allegations could be disadvantageous.
Recently, a KMCA representative also discussed the impact of NewJeans Crisis on the K-pop market. They expressed concerns, saying “NewJeans cannot even distinguish between a bond performance contract and an investment contract”, adding “To be honest, for those with a basic understanding of business and this market, NewJeans’ position is not worth responding to. However, they keep raising their voices, and I am worried that this may have a negative influence on teenagers with little social experience.”
Emphasizing the worries that NewJeans members’ logic might become a kind of belief to young people, the representative added that Min Hee-jin should have prevented NewJeans from actively speaking on the matters if she truly cared about the members and wanted to protect them.
They stated, “It is natural for conflicts to arise during business, and disputes can be resolved through lawsuits. However, publicizing everything related to the dispute and holding press conferences can negatively affect the artists’ image and the K-pop market”.
Raising another concern regarding investors’ sentiment toward the K-pop market due to the NewJeans Crisis, the representative said, “If contracts can be unilaterally terminated without notification, who would continue to invest in K-pop? In the long run, no investor will pour their money into such insatiable businesses.”
Regarding the increase in similar controversies in the K-pop industry, the representative explained, “This is a phenomenon that occurs due to the influx of huge capital. After all, NewJeans Crisis is all about money”.
Commenting on the bond between NewJeans and Min Hee-jin, they said, “NewJeans seems to be prioritizing emotional loyalty over business logic. They feel the need to stand up for the person working closely with them believing that they have been treated unfairly”, adding “When the members become more mature and gain a better understanding of business, they will view the situation differently. However, at this moment, they are acting too emotionally”.