Superstar K-pop group NewJeans signed restrictive label contracts that waived their rights to “sleep, rest and free choice.”
A new report from the New York Times reveals that the contracts were signed when the members of the record-breaking girl group were between the ages of 14 and 17.
The contracts prohibited artists from having an “insincere attitude” and engaging in “inappropriate romantic relationships.” They also challenged standard child welfare language that protects “basic human rights,” including the group members’ right to education.
The contracts for label Ador (a subsidiary of Hybe, home to popular groups BTS and Katseye) further excluded parts of the Korean government’s K-pop contract model stipulating that the label “shall not require a minor artist to engage in excessive physical exposure or overly suggestive expression of a sexual nature.”
In a statement to the New York Times, Hybe representatives said the company complies with child protection laws and works hard to ensure its artists work and train in safe conditions.
NewJeans is one of the most popular K-pop groups of the decade. In 2023, the five-member group followed Blackpink to become the second Korean girl group to earn a number one album on the Billboard charts. In November 2024, the group made global headlines when they announced their decision to leave the label amid contract disputes and claims that Ador had deliberately undermined their career.
Group member Hanni claimed NewJeans was mistreated by the label and accused Ador of “poor communications and deliberate manipulation” in a statement to South Korea’s parliament last year.
Ador always maintained that they had not violated their duty. “A unilateral assertion that trust has been broken does not constitute valid grounds for termination of a contract,” the label said in a statement.
The label sued band member, family member and producer Danielle in December 2025 for a total of nearly $30 million in damages and penalties for breach of contract.
Hybe representatives told the New York Times that its exit penalties do not exceed industry standards.
In July, the group promised that 2026 would be “the summer of NewJeans,” with a teaser showing the group as a quartet without Danielle. New music has not yet emerged.
New reports expose the murky world of K-pop contracts and shed light on the restrictive terms the genre’s biggest stars can be subject to.
By the time they signed their contracts, the NewJeans members – Minji, Hanni, Haerin, Hyein and Danielle – had already accumulated years of training in K-pop “boot camps” that taught vocal training, choreography and foreign language teaching.
Schedules were strict, a source told The New York Times, and it was not unusual for rehearsals to extend until 2 a.m. The youngest member of NewJeans, Hyein, was 12 years old at the time.
After the group members received their exclusive contracts with Ador in January 2022, one member’s parents requested several changes. They were told that the “contract itself” could be reconsidered if it was not signed in its current form.
In a statement to the New York Times, Hybe said his contracts were legal and negotiated in good faith, with protections in place for the artist as well as the label’s investment in those contracts.
This contract contravened government provisions that prohibited artists from working for “excessive periods of time.” It also stipulated that the group would have to reimburse a significant percentage of plastic surgery costs common in K-pop.
“We do not even recommend cosmetic surgery or procedures against an individual’s wishes,” Hybe said in a statement.
The NewJeans contact also granted Ador the right to use the class members’ “name, photographs, likeness, handwriting, voice and other materials” in perpetuity, at a level of ownership that goes further than government recommendations that such rights terminate upon termination of the contract.
The clause also grants Ador the right to use NewJeans members as chatbots or AI clones.
The Guardian has contacted Hybe for comment.
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