On December 29, ADOR released an official statement detailing the status of discussions regarding the return of members Hanni, Minji, and Danielle. According to the statement, of the three members, only Hanni has confirmed his return to ADOR. ADOR said: “Hanni visited Korea with her family and had long, in-depth conversations with ADOR. Through this process, she thought about past events and took time to view the issue objectively.” adding, “After sincere discussions, Hanni has decided to respect the court’s ruling and move forward together with ADOR.”
Hanni
" data-medium-file="https://cdn.kbizoom.com/media/2025/04/28101204/illits-wonhee-vs-newjeans-hanni-whos-your-favorite-baby-faced-idol-1-28042510-28042510-241x300.jpg" data-large-file="https://cdn.kbizoom.com/media/2025/04/28101204/illits-wonhee-vs-newjeans-hanni-whos-your-favorite-baby-faced-idol-1-28042510-28042510.jpg" alt="Years" class="wp-image-839703" srcset="https://cdn.kbizoom.com/media/2025/04/28101204/illits-wonhee-vs-newjeans-hanni-whos-your-favorite-baby-faced-idol-1-28042510-28042510.jpg 480w, https://cdn.kbizoom.com/media/2025/04/28101204/illits-wonhee-vs-newjeans-hanni-whos-your-favorite-baby-faced-idol-1-28042510-28042510-241x300.jpg 241w" sizes="(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px"/>Minji’s return has yet to be decided. ADOR stated regarding Minji, “We are continuing discussions to broaden mutual understanding.”
Negotiations with Danielle failed. ADOR said: “In Danielle’s case, we determined that it would be difficult to continue together as a member of NewJeans and as an artist under ADOR. As a result, the company notified her today of the termination of her exclusive contract.” The agency added, “We intend to hold legally accountable a member of Danielle’s family and former CEO Min Hee-jin, who bears significant responsibility for causing this controversy and for the departure of NewJeans and the delay in their return.”
In November last year, NewJeans said its contracts had been terminated due to ADOR’s breach of exclusivity agreements and said it would carry out independent business. In response, ADOR claimed that the contracts with NewJeans were still valid and filed a lawsuit seeking confirmation of the validity of the exclusivity contracts. In October, the Civil Settlements Division 41 of the Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of ADOR in the case, confirming that the exclusive contracts were valid.
Immediately after the first instance ruling, the NewJeans shareholders expressed their intention to appeal, but in reality no appeal was lodged. Meanwhile, Haerin and Hyein officially confirmed their return to the agency via ADOR last month. On the same day, Minji, Danielle and Hanni separately expressed their intention to return to ADOR via a law firm. ADOR initially said yes “confirming their sincerity”, and later added that it was “He will coordinate individual meetings and do his best to ensure smooth discussions.”
In the statement released on December 29, ADOR explained: “Through the dialogue process, we realized that members had been exposed to distorted and distorted information for a long time, leading to many misunderstandings about the company and, ultimately, this controversy.”
ADOR continued, “Both the company and the artists agreed that in order to win back the love of fans and audiences, even if it takes time, it is necessary to completely resolve the misunderstandings based on accurate facts,” adding, “We have also agreed to have the opportunity at a later date to address the various disputes that arose during the litigation, and we are currently discussing the timing and format.”
Finally, ADOR stated: “We will do our best to resolve this matter amicably and help NewJeans return to their fans as soon as possible.”
Sources: Daum
