K-pop giants rally against NewJeans, group blames HYBE for trying to derail ‘debut’ as NJZ

As members of girl group NewJeans ready themselves for their “second debut” next month, K-pop industry organizations are saying that the success of NJZ could ruin the whole scene. HYBE chairman Bang Si-hyuk reportedly even called the organizers of a Hong Kong concert event that booked the girl group, in an alleged attempt to sabotage their appearance.

The parents of NJZ, the new name that the five NewJeans members announced earlier this month, claimed that HYBE and NewJeans’ agency ADOR are trying to prevent the girl group’s participation in the “Complex Live” concert set for next month.

The group announced its name change on March 23 along its upcoming concert participation and a new song.

“We heard that HYBE chairman Bang Si-hyuk personally made calls to officials in the United States so that the NJZ members’ performance would be canceled,” the parents wrote in a post uploaded on Wednesday to the @njz_pr Instagram account, which they have been using to release their official statements, instead of hiring a PR agency. The girl group has yet to sign with a new agency.

“We have also heard that ADOR is also making efforts to disrupt us. Chairman [Bang], we have not heard from you ever since we sent you our complaint email in April 2024. If you have so much to say, then please call us personally, not other people,” the parents said on Instagram.

The PR account also responded to a press release sent out by five major K-pop industry organizations on Wednesday morning under the title, “This is a plea to establish policies to curb the practice of ‘tampering.’”

The release was sent in an email to reporters at around 8:30 a.m. and once again around noon by the five largest industry organizations: the Korea Management Federation, the Korea Entertainment Producers’ Association, the Record Label Industry Association of Korea, the Recording Industry Association of Korea and the Korea Music Content Association.

“We sincerely plea with the National Assembly and the government to establish policies to curb the problematic practice of tampering, and with the artists to stop acting only in their benefit by manipulating public opinion through ungrounded accusations,” read the statement.

Tampering refers to the act of signing with a different agency while still under contract with another agency. The issue came to light most recently when the former members of girl group Fifty Fifty tried to sue their own agency Attrakt so that they could break off their contracts and sign with a new company.

The statement directly pointed to the NewJeans issue and blamed Min Hee-jin, the producer of NewJeans and former CEO of ADOR who publicly called out HYBE executives, including Bang, for their alleged mistreatment of NewJeans members and herself.

“The tendency of trying to manipulate public opinion and making unilateral arguments, without trying to work things out legally or through mutual agreements, has been spreading like a trend,” read the statement. “Such examples are the press conference held by former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin, Hanni attending the parliamentary audit and the girl group pursuing their own activities, which were issues that should have been solved privately. The conflict surrounding Min and NewJeans especially continues to this day.”

The organizations stated that they “were not trying to discuss the conflict between a specific artist or agency,” but went on to request the government and parliament take necessary measures so similar cases wouldn’t arise in the future.

“Tampering can bring down an agency, which makes a huge investment over a long period of time by taking a bet only on the future value of an artist,” the statement said. “Should we let a tampering attempt to succeed, the whole entertainment and management industry will fall apart and fail as the birthplace of K-pop. This will not stop at domestic businesses but may lead to K-pop being devoured by overseas capital giants.”

The five organizations also announced that they will hold a press conference on Feb. 27. The event is slated to focus on what the organizations are calling a “K-pop crisis” and involves the appeals of “2,200 music producers.”

The NJZ PR account criticized the five organizations as being cruel and hypocritical, especially regarding an ongoing case that has not had a hearing in court.

“We are deeply regretful about a statement that hurts the fairness of the court by making something sound true, when, in fact, it hasn’t even been verified yet,” read the Instagram post.

“It is ironic to see the organizations take the side of a company and only point out the damage to the company when an agency has in fact failed to protect its members, who are now courageously protecting themselves through their own voice and taking risks through legal processes.”

“The NJZ members are going to perform at the ComplexCon event in Hong Kong. They are excitedly getting ready to show a new side of themselves to the fans around the world, having broken off from the horrible days with HYBE and ADOR,” added the statement.

ADOR also released a statement on Wednesday evening, denying NJZ’s claims.

“ADOR has never tried to sabotage NewJeans’ Hong Kong performance,” the agency said. “We have also confirmed that Bang Si-hyuk has not made any contact regarding NewJeans’ Hong Kong performance. We asked the organizers, as we have also asked domestic reporters, to use the official team name ‘NewJeans,’ and also asked that they make the [live performance] deal through ADOR as is dictated by the exclusive contract.”

The singers are set for two court hearings, one on March 7 regarding an injunction ADOR filed to prevent the five singers from signing independent commercial contracts, and one on April 3 regarding whether the contract between the two parties had been terminated legally.

The five singers are legally represented by Shin & Kim, the law firm that also represents Min. Details about the members’ new agency remain undisclosed, but the members said they were “also getting a new agent soon” in an Instagram live on Feb. 7.

ComplexCon Hong Kong takes place from March 21 to 23 at the Hong Kong Asia World-Expo. NJZ will headline the last day of the event on March 23.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]