Adore, the agency for New Jeans, said that the ‘growth engine’ that made today‘s K-pop lie in the ‘mutual growth’ of the company and its artists.

Adore, the agency for the group New Jeans, has filed a lawsuit against New Jeans, who declared that they are ‘leaving’, to confirm the validity of their exclusive contract. Adore, which decided to appeal to the law to express its will to ‘have been with New Jeans until now and will continue to be with them in the future’, also explained that the filing of this lawsuit is an expression of its responsibility and duty as a member of the industry to protect the ‘foundation’ that made today’s K-pop.

On the 5th, Adore stated, “On the 3rd, 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 our exclusive contract is still valid.”

Adore explained the background of the lawsuit, saying, “We did not want the issue with our artist to be resolved through ‘legal judgment,’ however, we realized that an exclusive contract between a company and an artist cannot be lightly terminated based on a unilateral claim,” and further, “We judged that it was necessary to confirm this with the artist as well as other stakeholders, so we made an inevitable decision.”

In its statement, Adore drew attention by emphasizing the mutual growth between the company and its artists as the ‘foundation that has supported’ the K-pop industry.

Adore stated, “Today, K-pop has developed through two synergies: the talent of the artists and their constant efforts to improve it, and the full investment and trust of the company with the ‘know-how’.” 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 that has been mutually agreed upon based on this premise. If this basic agreement is not kept, the company’s efforts to endure uncertainty for a long time and put full trust in it will become ineffective, and there will be no compensation anywhere.”

Apart from appealing to the law, Adore also reiterated its will to resolve the issue through dialogue in order to move forward with New Jeans, as it has been doing so far.

Adore emphasized, “Our position on being with New Jeans remains unchanged,” and promised, “Apart from seeking a judicial decision on the validity of the exclusive contract, we believe that sufficient and sincere discussions with New Jeans are absolutely necessary. We will make continuous efforts to resolve unnecessary misunderstandings (mutually).”

Meanwhile, New Jeans has not made any specific statement regarding Adore’s lawsuit for confirmation of the validity of its exclusive contract as of this afternoon.


Reporter Heo Min-nyeong mignon@donga.com