Last year, NewJeans staged a revolt that challenged the foundations of the K-pop industry. Their complaint, against the HYBE ADOR label, was based on the allegation that they had suffered “gross negligence” on the part of their employers. ADOR beat them in court and kicked Danielle Marsh out of the group; her lawyer said the label was punishing her for the attempted mutiny. Today, ADOR is seeking millions in damages from Marsh for breach of contract. But questions remain about the severity of the conditions to which ADOR subjected NewJeans – a battery of brutal training regimes and unusually strict personal conditions laid out in a new report from The New York Times.
The harsh reality of K-pop contracts is no secret. The demands placed on trainee idols are so grueling that the Korean government has implemented a model contract to prevent the most inhumane conditions. But labels are free to deviate from its recommendations, and ADOR has made several key changes, several experts said. The times. The model’s standard language — guaranteeing rights to education, physical and mental health, and other protections against child labor — was omitted from NewJeans’ contract, signed when members were ages 14 to 17. Their parents agreed to the conditions. But when a member’s mother asked for changes, ADOR’s vice president responded, in an email obtained by The times“If you do not accept the current draft contract, including the points above, it may be best to reconsider the contract itself.”
Ahead of the group’s 2022 debut, ADOR coached NewJeans’ younger members with little respite, the report suggests. Four of the five members dropped out of school. They often rehearsed late into the night, sometimes until 2 a.m., and breaks were discouraged, sources said. The times. (HYBE said it fully complies with child protection laws, works hard to keep artists safe, and does not pressure them to leave school or penalize them for resting.) The contracts gave the label the right to use AI-generated NewJeans vocals indefinitely, while the government contract model returns rights to an artist for their name, likeness, and voice once the contract ends.
Other unusual restrictions in contracts include prohibiting “insincere attitudes,” “inappropriate romantic relationships” and publicly stating “true or false facts” that could damage the etiquette. Band member Hanni Pham nevertheless denounced ADOR for its treatment of her and her bandmates during a 2024 testimony before the Korean Parliament. Shortly thereafter, the group was renamed NJZ and performed at ComplexCon in Hong Kong, in defiance of an injunction granted to ADOR by a Seoul court. But the rebellion was quickly put down when NewJeans – or NJZ – announced a pause in compliance with the court order.
The strict terms of the contract meant that insubordinate members could face legal action and massive costs. By terminating Marsh’s contract and suing her, ADOR alleged that her refusal to work, as well as her unauthorized solo projects and photo shoots, had broken the terms of the contract and cost the label some $22 million. The other members of NewJeans remain under contract until 2029. Their latest activity is a video posted by ADOR last August, promising a “summer of NewJeans” that did not materialize.
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