From stage to courtroom: NewJeans meets 3rd anniversary in legal standoff

K-pop girl group NewJeans marked the third anniversary of its debut this week, but instead of a celebration, the milestone arrived under the shadow of an unresolved legal dispute with its agency, Ador. Two days after marking its third debut anniversary, NewJeans underwent a third court hearing Thursday at 4 p.m., in a lawsuit filed by Ador seeking to confirm the validity of the group's exclusive contracts — a case that has kept the group embroiled in legal trouble for months. With the hearing falling so close to the anniversary date, fans gathered outside the Seoul Central District Court in hopes of seeing the five members — Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin and Hyein — but the group did not appear in person for the proceedings. The legal conflict between NewJeans and the HYBE subsidiary began back in November 2024, when the members held an emergency press conference and declared their intention to terminate their contracts with the agency citing that the trust between them had broken down. Soon after, the group revealed a new name, NJZ, via a new social media account and began prepaWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times