In November 2024, NewJeans, a notable K-pop girl group, started their heated legal battle against their label, ADOR. NewJeans claimed their contract with ADOR had terminated, making them independent. In response, ADOR filed an injunction to prevent NewJeans from pursuing any independent activities. After a year of conflict, on October 30, 2025, the South Korean Court ruled that their contract with ADOR remains valid.

This situation started due to the dismissal of ADOR’s former CEO, Min Hee-jin. NewJeans proclaimed that this decision shattered their trust in the company and decided to sue. Since K-pop artists and their companies have historically had strict relationships, this case took the world by storm. As the company said, they were still preparing a new album for NewJeans while they were suing them. This fact would suggest that ADOR was trying to maintain a good relationship with the NewJeans, even in the face of the legal battle.

Despite the court’s ruling, NewJeans continues to hold independent activities. For instance, they held a meeting in Hong Kong where they announced their hiatus. After the court announced the injunction was issued in March 2025, NewJeans expressed that although they were shocked, they will still go through this challenge together.

It’s clear that relationships between labels and artists are not balanced well. During the 2025 Grammys, Best New Artist Chappell Roan spoke up, saying, “Labels, we got you, but do you get us?” In her speech, Chappell Roan tries to promote labels to provide basic health care and a livable wage for starting singers and artists. She highlights the immense profits of record labels and the often precarious financial state of developing artists. For the record labels, there are always disputes about how to treat artists.

There is widespread objection to the current system in which labels treat artists as tools for making money rather than human beings. Labels should take care of their artists instead of exploiting them. We need to have more courage to stand up and speak for others; the world will only become better if people have the courage to be themselves.

NewJeans took the first step in the K-pop industry, and this legal loss won’t crush their unwavering bravery.