Girl group New Jeans and its agency Adore have finally begun a legal battle. This is because Adore filed a lawsuit against New Jeans regarding their exclusive contracts.

On the 5th, Adore stated, “On December 3rd, we filed a lawsuit at the Seoul Central District Court to confirm the validity of our exclusive contract with our artist New Jeans in order to receive legal confirmation that the contract is still valid.”

They continued, “Although we did not want the issues with our artists to be resolved through legal judgment, we made the inevitable decision based on the judgment that we needed to confirm to the artists as well as other stakeholders that the exclusive contract between the company and the artist is not something that can be lightly terminated due to one party’s claims alone.”

Additionally, Adore said, “Our position on working with New Jeans remains unchanged,” and added, “Apart from seeking the court’s judgment on the validity of the exclusive contract, we believe that sufficient and sincere discussions with our artists are absolutely necessary. Despite repeated earnest requests from Adore executives and staff, we have not yet had the opportunity to communicate with our artists, but we will make continuous efforts to resolve unnecessary misunderstandings that have built up between our artists and our company.”

Meanwhile, New Jeans, which had been in conflict with Adore over treatment, held an emergency press conference on the 28th of last month and declared that they would terminate their exclusive contract, saying, “We cannot accept that we have to maintain our exclusive contract with Adore, with whom our trust has already been broken.”

Below is Adore’s full statement.

Hello, this is Adore.

On December 3, we filed a lawsuit for confirmation of the validity of our exclusive contract with our artist, New Jeans, in order to receive legal confirmation that the contract is still valid.

Although we did not want the issue with our artist to be resolved through legal judgment, we made the inevitable decision after determining that we needed to confirm to the artist as well as other stakeholders that the exclusive contract between the company and the artist cannot be lightly terminated based on one party‘s claim alone. Above all, we would like to clearly seek the court’s judgment to protect the foundation of the K-pop industry, and furthermore, the Korean popular culture industry, which has grown based on a healthy relationship of trust between artists and companies.

It is with a heavy heart to tell you this news, but this is to prevent artists from misunderstanding that their exclusive contracts have been legally terminated and engaging in entertainment activities in a way that violates their current exclusive contracts, or from causing unexpected damage and confusion to industry insiders at home and abroad as a result.

Today’s K-pop has developed through the synergy of two factors: the talent and continuous effort of artists, and the full investment and trust of companies with know-how. In uncertain situations where it is difficult to predict success or failure in advance, it is an essential characteristic of popular culture, especially the K-pop industry, that the company’s support must come first for a long period of time. The company’s prior support is based on the expectation and belief that the company and the artist can grow together for a certain period of time, and the exclusive contract is an agreement reached through mutual consent based on this premise.

If this basic agreement is not kept, the company‘s efforts to endure uncertainty for a long time and to put forth complete trust in the name of investment will become ineffective and cannot be compensated anywhere. In other words, we will no longer be able to expect systematic support, investment, or system advancement in this industry, and we are most concerned that the virtuous cycle of growth of the K-pop industry, which has developed rapidly through the sweat and dreams of many people, will be broken.

Adore’s position to work with New Jeans remains unchanged. Separate from seeking a judgment from the judiciary regarding the validity of the exclusive contract, we believe that sufficient and sincere discussions with the artists are absolutely necessary. Despite the repeated earnest requests from Adore executives and staff, we have not yet had the opportunity to communicate with the artists, but we will continue to make ceaseless efforts to resolve unnecessary misunderstandings that have accumulated between the artists and our company. We will do our best to repay those who love New Jeans‘ music with better activities. We ask for your support and encouragement so that both Adore and the New Jeans members can wisely overcome the current situation.



Reporter Yoo Ji-hye yjh0304@donga.com