Chart-topping K-pop group NewJeans have said they are leaving their agency after accusing it of “mistreatment” and “manipulation”.
The five-member girl band announced their departure from Ador, a subsidiary of powerhouse label Hybe, in a late-night press conference held on Thursday.
One of the group’s member’s Hanni alleged NewJeans had been shunned by the company.
The split is the latest development in a long-running conflict between former NewJeans producer Min Hee-Jin, and Hybe’s chairman Bang Si-hyuk which has made headlines in South Korea.
“This is not the type of work ethic we respect and not one we want to be a part of, and to continue working under a company with no intention of protecting NewJeans would only do us harm,” Hanni said.
She added the group had faced “mistreatment, not just towards us but also including our staff”, and said the group experienced “deliberate miscommunications and manipulation in multiple areas”.
The group said they would like to work with Min, the group’s former mastermind who left Ador in August following accusations that she had planned to split from Hybe, taking NewJeans with her.
This would have made NewJeans and Ador independent of Hybe. Min has denied the accusations against her.
She has previously accused Hybe of launching another girl group, Illit, that was copying NewJeans’s music and appearance.
On 13 November, NewJeans filed a legal notice to Ador demanding the company resolve breaches of their exclusive contracts within 14 days.
They said that failure to meet their demands would result in the termination of their contracts.
The group had asked for an apology allegedly made by one of the company’s managers, who is accused by NewJeans of bullying, and the immediate reinstatement of Min.
They added they they would fulfil their contractual obligations, but at the conference warned their fans they might not be able to use the band’s name after the contract terminates.
Prior to the split, the band were committed to a seven-year contract, which runs out in 2029.
In October, the K-pop news site Koreaboo estimated that the members would have to pay about 300bn South Korean Won (about £170m) to terminate the contract early.
But group singer Haerin said it “makes no sense” that the group would be liable to pay a contract breach fee.
“We never broke any rules,” Haerin said. “We did nothing but try our best – they are the ones at fault. Hybe and Ador are the ones responsible.”
The group has been embroiled in a year-long controversy with audits and emotional accusations making South Korean headlines.
In October, a member of the group, Hanni, 20, testified at the Labour Committee of South Korea’s National Assembly at a hearing about workplace harassment.
She alleged that entertainment agency Hybe had deliberately undermined her band, and accused senior managers of deliberately ignoring her.
Following several incidents, she said: “I came to the realisation that this wasn’t just a feeling. I was honestly convinced that the company hated us.”
NewJeans made its debut in 2022 and is among Hybe’s most successful K-pop groups, along with BTS.
With slick pop hits including Super Shy and OMG, NewJeans were the eighth biggest-selling act in the world last year, and were nominated for best group at this year’s MTV Awards.
Formed by Ador in 2022, its five members – Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin and Hyein – range in age from 16 to 20.