SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — K-pop girl group NewJeans has announced a pause on all activities, days after a South Korean court ruled against its five members in a dispute with record label Ador.
The band, one of the top-selling acts globally, informed fans Sunday night during a show in Hong Kong that it might be their “last performance for a little while,” stunning the audience.
Last year, NewJeans announced a split from Ador, citing “mistreatment,” including “deliberate miscommunications” and workplace harassment. The band members rebranded as NJZ and began organizing their own activities.
Ador, a subsidiary of Hybe, the entertainment giant behind BTS, denied the allegations and filed an injunction in January, asserting its role as the group’s management agency.
On Friday, the Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of Ador, preventing NewJeans from conducting independent performances or solo commercial activities.
The group stated they respected the court decision but intended to challenge it.
In their first appearance since the ruling, NewJeans—performing as NJZ—debuted a new song, “Pit Stop,” on Sunday night to over 11,000 fans at the ComplexCon Hong Kong festival.
However, the group made a surprising announcement shortly thereafter.
“Out of respect for the court’s decision, we’ve decided to pause all our activities for now,” said member Pham Ngoc Han, known as Hanni.
Each of the five members—Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein—read a letter in English and Korean to their fans at AsiaWorld-Expo, Hong Kong’s largest live music venue.
The group described the pause as “not an easy decision” but necessary at the moment.
“But that doesn’t mean we’re going to give up. We’re going to keep going,” they added.
Despite the court ruling, they expressed no regret over their decision to part ways with Ador, emphasizing the need to “speak up to protect the values” they believe in.
The group thanked fans for their support and vowed to return “no matter what the circumstances.”
In response, Ador expressed “regret” over NewJeans’ decision to perform under a new name and “unilaterally” suspend activities.
“We will do our best for NewJeans in accordance with our valid exclusive contract. We hope to meet with the artist soon to discuss the future,” Ador said Monday, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.
The label stated the contract is valid until July 2029.
NBC News has contacted Ador’s parent company Hybe for comment.
The dispute began in August 2024 when Ador replaced Min Hee-jin, the group’s executive producer and mentor, with an HR specialist. After failing to reinstate Min, the group announced its contract termination and departure from Ador.
In testimony before South Korean lawmakers last year, Hanni accused Hybe of deliberately undermining the band.
NewJeans, which debuted in 2022, is renowned for blending pop and R&B music. Billboard named them “one of the most recognized and most influential groups in pop” in 2023.
They also set a Guinness World Record as the fastest K-pop act to reach 1 billion streams on Spotify, surpassing BTS and Blackpink.