A South Korean court has ruled against K-pop band NewJeans in its long-running dispute with record label Ador. The Seoul Central District Court upheld an injunction that temporarily prohibits the group from carrying out independent musical or commercial activities.
NewJeans, which recently announced it was rebranding as NJZ, had claimed its contract with Ador to be void amid allegations of mistreatment. However, Ador has disputed those allegations and argued that NewJeans remains under contract.
The court’s ruling comes just days before a scheduled headline performance at the ComplexCon Hong Kong festival, where the group was due to perform under the name NJZ. The band confirmed that Sunday’s appearance would go ahead as planned to “prevent unnecessary disruption or harm to those who have been looking forward” to the show.
In a statement welcoming the court’s decision, Ador said it supports the band’s decision to perform in Hong Kong on condition it does so under the name NewJeans. The label added that it is committed to supporting the artists going forward and will be fully present at ComplexCon to guarantee the performance is presented under the correct name.
The dispute has been closely watched by fans and the South Korean music industry, with several major industry bodies condemning a practice known as “tampering” where external parties sidestep agencies to form direct business relationships with bands that are under contract.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/21/style/new-jeans-ador-court-injunction-hnk-intl/index.html