“No choice but to explain the facts…”
Koreaboo
3 hours ago
HYBE has hit back at The New York Times‘ report on NewJeans‘ contracts with ADOR, and the company is pointing the finger at one specific person.
The original five members of NewJeans | ADOR
On November 5, The New York Times released an exclusive report divulging the details of the exclusive contracts NewJeans signed with ADOR in 2022. The report claimed that the contracts left out the protections for minors typically found in the South Korean government’s standard K-Pop contract template (including the rights to health, schooling, and sleep) and required members to cover their own cosmetic surgery costs, adding that the terms were “essentially nonnegotiable.” The contracts in question were signed when the NewJeans members were aged between just 14 and 17.
Disturbing Details Of NewJeans’ Contract With ADOR Spark Massive Backlash
On November 6, however, HYBE released its own statement to Korean media, disputing the report point by point. The company started with the claim that the members were left unprotected as minors.
All labels under HYBE sign the national standard supplementary agreement for minors with their respective trainees. These agreements include all protective provisions, including personality rights and the rights to sleep, education, and rest.
— HYBE
HYBE also rejected the idea that the members were forced to sign these contracts, claiming the deals were signed in April 2022 following three months of talks and revisions reviewed by NewJeans’ lawyers.
| ADOR
The Times had cited emails showing that one member’s mother requested several changes in January 2022, only for ADOR’s vice president to reply, “If you do not agree to the current contract draft, including the points above, it may be best to reconsider the contract itself.”
According to HYBE, which states that the woman in question is the mother of a member currently in dispute with ADOR, the provision she wanted revised was a clause requiring members to report any attempted tampering to the company immediately.
Although the requested revision was not incorporated at the time, the mother expressed her gratitude for the company’s detailed explanation, saying, ‘Thank you for your thoughtful response. I would like to let you know that I have no objections to the response you provided.’
— HYBE
The four current members of NewJeans, following Danielle’s contract termination | ADOR
HYBE did admit that one mother asked whether the members’ share of costs could be reduced, but claims its own legal team did try to make that happen.
At the time, HYBE’s legal team prepared several options to accommodate this request and presented them to ADOR, but ADOR’s deputy CEO at the time rejected them, and the contracts were signed under the current terms.
— HYBE
| ADOR
That deputy CEO, HYBE stressed to media, was appointed by former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin. While many fans are accusing HYBE’s centralized legal team of being responsible for the contract terms, the agency says its legal team provides a basic template and that each label sets key terms itself, including how payments are calculated.
The wording of NewJeans’ contracts was jointly worked out and the contracts ultimately signed by then-CEO Min Hee Jin, the deputy CEO she appointed, each member and their parents, and legal representatives for some of the members. We explained these facts to The New York Times along with supporting materials and asked that they be specified in the article, but our request was not accepted.
— HYBE
HYBE ended its statement by suggesting the documents were never meant to go public.
Contracts and litigation materials held only by the parties involved have been leaked to overseas media and are being used as a tool to attack K-Pop, leaving us no choice but to explain the facts.
— HYBE