NewJeans, the K-pop giants who attempted to rebrand as NJZ, announced at a concert last night that they would pause all band activities due to their legal dispute with their record label, BBC News reports. Citing a court ruling against the band over its decision to split from ADOR, an imprint of HYBE, the members told fans at ComplexCon Hong Kong, “It wasn’t an easy decision, but we believe this is something we need to do at this moment.”
NewJeans’ conflict with ADOR began last year, when the label allegedly cut out the band’s mentor, Min Hee-Jin, prompting the band to publicize grievances with the label, including allegations by singer Hanni of workplace harassment. Their name change was part of an effort to work around their exclusivity deal with the label, which the members argued ADOR and HYBE had violated. A Seoul court ruled, however, that the NewJeans artists had failed to prove significant negligence by the label—a decision that opens them up to potential counter-action relating to breach of contract.
Hanna and Dani from the band said at ComplexCon Hong Kong, “This stage means so much to us and every single one of you who gives us strength just by being here. It is really hard for us to say this, but this might be our last performance for a little while. Out of respect for the court’s decision, we’ve decided to pause all our activities for now.” They added that the pause was “about protecting ourselves so that we can come back even stronger.”
In a statement today, ADOR said it regrets “the members’ decision to proceed with a performance under a name other than NewJeans,” adding that it wishes to keep working with the musicians under their original contract. “We hope to meet with the artists as soon as possible to discuss the path forward,” the statement concludes.
