All five members of NewJeans announced this week that they will return to their record label Ador, ending a lengthy legal battle where the K-pop group attempted to cut ties with the Hybe subsidiary and rebrand as NJZ.
In June, a Seoul, South Korea high court ruled in favor of Ador, ordering NewJeans to honor the contract that would keep the group tied to the record label until 2029. NewJeans — Hyein, Haerin, Hanni, Danielle and Minji —initially said they would appeal the court’s ruling, but have instead opted to return to Ador.
Earlier this week, Ador announced in a statement that Hyein and Haerin “have decided to continue their activities” with the label. “Ador is committed to providing its full support to Haerin and Hyein to ensure the seamless continuation of their artistic endeavors,” the label said.
The fate of the other three members was decided Wednesday, as Hanni, Danielle, and Minji announced in a separate statement that “after careful discussion,” they too would rejoin Ador, the BBC reports.
Their decision “was relayed late as one member is currently in Antarctica, but as ADOR is not responding at the moment, we are inevitably announcing this through a separate statement,” the three members said. “We will continue greeting you with sincere music and performances.”
NewJeans announced their decision to leave ADOR last year and revealed their new name NJZ in February 2025; the group was in the midst of a seven-year exclusive contract with ADOR when they announced their plans to exit the label.
The K-pop group previously argued to the court that the departure of former ADOR CEO Min Hee-Jin — with whom they signed their contract — as well as feeling neglected and unsupported by the label were grounds to leave the HYBE subsidiary. They also accused the label of misconduct and mistreatment.
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However, the Seoul high court responded by saying Min Hee-Jin’s employment at Ador was not stipulated in NewJeans’ contract, nor had the group presented any evidence that the label’s new hierarchy were treating them unfairly.
Amid the legal drama, the group took the stage in March as NJZ at Hong Kong’s ComplexCon, which they noted “might be our last performance for a little while” due to an injunction to cease performing as NJZ and fulfill their NewJeans contract.
