It’s a hard truth, but it’s one the members of NewJeans (NJZ) may be realizing. Things aren’t going back to how they were. Their former CEO and creative director Min Hee Jin is gone. While the group may be willing to return to ADOR, it’s not the same company it was when they debuted back in 2022.
With mediation set for August 14, both sides are heading into what could be their last chance to find common ground before a final decision is made.
What’s This Really About?
At the core of the NewJeans vs. ADOR/HYBE conflict is a broken relationship. What began as a corporate audit in April 2024 has spiraled into one of the most emotionally charged legal battles K-pop has seen in years.
ADOR, now without its founding CEO Min Hee Jin, argues that nothing fundamental has changed. They’ve continued paying NewJeans, managing schedules, and supporting the group as usual. As far as they’re concerned, the contract remains valid.
NewJeans doesn’t agree with these statements. In fact, their lawyers claim the situation has inflicted so much psychological damage, the girls feel anxiety whenever they’re near HYBE’s headquarters and have to take antidepressants.
Their legal team argues that staying under ADOR’s new management is the equivalent of being trapped in an abusive household. One where the “mom” who raised them was kicked out, only to be replaced by a stranger calling himself “dad.” Is that metaphor extreme? Yes, but it’s supposed to illustrate how bad NewJeans’ fallout with ADOR/HYBE is.
Why Is Mediation Still on the Table?
Despite the tension, NewJeans isn’t fully closing the door. Their legal team made it clear: if ADOR could somehow return to the company it was before HYBE’s audit, they’d be open to coming back.
That condition sounds impossible to meet since Min Hee Jin is no longer in charge, and most of her original team is out. The court has scheduled for a private mediation session for August 14, 2025. The mediation process offers a narrow path forward where ADOR could propose compromises that make returning less painful. NewJeans might push for more creative freedom over the group’s music and identity, similar to the agreement i-dle has with CUBE Entertainment.
The Stakes Are Huge
On paper, this legal dispute is about contract validity. ADOR says the group still has an active, exclusive contract with the agency. NewJeans says those contracts are void because the people and environment they signed up for are gone.
NewJeans want to preserve the version of themselves they built with Min Hee Jin. They say that trust was shattered the moment HYBE forced her out. Their claim of mistreatment centers on how HYBE used the audit to justify a leadership overhaul the members never consented to.
If the court sides with ADOR, NewJeans could face penalties as high as 620 billion KRW (roughly $420 million USD). If the court sides with NewJeans, it could trigger a seismic shift in how idol contracts are viewed. Particularly in cases where emotional harm and management changes are involved.
What This Means for K-pop and NewJeans
This case isn’t just about one group. It’s a stress test for the entire K-pop system. If idols can argue that emotional betrayal and management overhauls invalidate their contracts, it opens the door for others to challenge the industry’s long-standing control structures.
For NewJeans, mediation may offer them a way to negotiate terms that make staying possible. However, that’ll only work if they accept that they’re not returning to the ADOR they once knew. It’s a choice between reclaiming a fantasy version of ADOR that no longer exists or negotiating a new kind of relationship with the label.
