ADOR, the South Korean music label behind K-pop girl group NewJeans, announced that it has officially terminated its exclusive contract with member Danielle Marsh.
The HYBE subsidiary also revealed plans to pursue legal action against Danielle’s family and former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin, whom the company accused of instigating the ongoing legal dispute. The announcement was made on Monday, December 29.
In a press release, ADOR stated, "We decided that it would be difficult for Danielle to continue both as a member of NewJeans and an artist at ADOR, and we have notified her that the contract has been terminated."
The agency further added, "We will take legal measures against members of Danielle's family and former CEO Min Hee-jin, who hold grave responsibility not only in our conflict between NewJeans, but the members' delayed return to the agency."
According to the company, the conflict stemmed from what it described as prolonged exposure of the members to misleading and distorted information about the agency. ADOR said it "found out that the members had been fed continuous and twisted information about the company over an extended period of time," which it identified as the core cause of the dispute.
Despite this, the agency maintained that reconciliation was still a priority, saying, "However, we agreed that we would need to take the chance to sort out all misunderstandings, even if it takes a long time, in order to fully restore the love from the fans and the public."
The latest development comes about six weeks after ADOR announced that members Haerin and Hyein had resolved their conflict with the agency and returned. Following that announcement, the remaining members—Minji, Hanni, and Danielle—also stated their intention to rejoin ADOR.
However, ADOR clarified that negotiations with the three members had not yet been finalized. In its December 29 statement, the company confirmed that Hanni will be returning to the agency, while talks with Minji are ongoing but progressing positively, aimed at "expanding the mutual understanding between the two parties." The label, however, took a firm and final stance regarding Danielle.
WHAT HAPPENED
In November 2024, all members of NewJeans unilaterally terminated their contracts with ADOR, citing workplace harassment and other issues, including the dismissal of former CEO Min Hee-jin.
Following their departure, the group engaged in several independent activities. These included launching a separate Instagram account, distributing free food to protesters in South Korea last December, rebranding themselves as NJZ, and performing at the pop culture event ComplexCon Hong Kong in March.
In January, ADOR filed for an injunction to stop NewJeans’ independent activities. The Seoul Central District Court approved the request on March 21, just days before the group’s ComplexCon performance.
After appearing at the festival, NewJeans announced a hiatus in compliance with the court’s ruling and filed an appeal against the injunction.
On May 30, the court approved ADOR’s request for indirect compulsory enforcement, imposing penalties for any unauthorized activities. Under the ruling, each member would be required to pay 1 billion won (US$726,800) per violation, starting May 30.
Later, on October 30, the court ruled that the exclusive contracts between ADOR and all five members remained valid. NewJeans’ legal representatives said they would challenge the decision.
Despite the ruling, the group announced on November 12 that they had decided to return to ADOR.
ADOR stated that it will provide a full explanation of the dispute in a separate event, with details regarding the date and format to be announced at a later time.
