Entertainment

NewJeans Contract Controversy Highlights Restrictive K‑Pop Agreements

By Owen Myers

The K‑pop group NewJeans signed contracts with record label Ador, a subsidiary of Hybe, that waived the members’ rights to “sleep, rest and free choice.” According to a New York Times report, the contracts were signed when the five members—Minji, Hanni, Haerin, Hyein and Danielle—were aged 14 to 17. The agreements prohibited the performers from having an “insincere attitude” and from engaging in “inappropriate romantic relationships.” They also included standard child‑protection language that protected the members’ basic human rights, including the right to education. The contracts omitted portions of the Korean government’s K‑pop contract template that state a label “shall not demand that a performer who is a minor engage in excessive physical exposure or overly sexually suggestive expression.”

Hybe representatives told the New York Times that the company follows child‑protection laws and works to ensure safe working and training conditions. NewJeans, one of the decade’s most popular K‑pop acts, reached number one on the Billboard charts in 2023, becoming the second Korean girl group after Blackpink to do so.

In November 2024, the group announced its decision to leave Ador amid contract disputes and claims that the label had deliberately undermined their careers. Member Hanni accused the label of “deliberate miscommunications and manipulation” in a statement to South Korea’s parliament last year. Ador has maintained that it did not violate its duties, stating that a unilateral claim of broken trust does not justify contract termination.

In December 2025, the label sued band member Danielle, a family member and the group’s producer for nearly $30 million in damages and a contract‑break penalty. Hybe said its exit penalty fees do not exceed industry standards.

The group announced in July that 2026 would be the “summer of NewJeans,” showing a teaser of the group as a four‑piece without Danielle. No new music has been released.

The reports shed light on the restrictive conditions that can accompany K‑pop contracts. By the time the members signed, they had already completed years of training in K‑pop “boot camps” that taught vocal training, choreography and foreign language education. Schedules were strict, with rehearsals often extending until 2 a.m. The youngest member, Hyein, was 12 when the contracts were signed.

After the contracts were signed in January 2022, the parents of one member requested multiple changes. They were told that the contract could be reconsidered if it was not signed in its current form. Hybe said the contracts were legal, negotiated in good faith, and included protections for the artists as well as the label’s investment.

The agreements also required the band to repay a significant portion of plastic‑surgery costs, a practice common in K‑pop. Hybe stated that it does not recommend cosmetic surgery against an individual’s wishes.

The contracts granted Ador perpetual rights to use the members’ name, photographs, likeness, handwriting, voice and other elements, exceeding government recommendations that such rights end at contract termination. The clause also allows Ador to use the members as AI chatbots or clones.

The Guardian has reached out to Hybe for comment.