On December 14, NewJeans (Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin and Hyein) created a new SNS account with the name “jeanzforfree”, with a significant connotation. Although it is not certain whether this is an official account managed directly by the group, clues from the SNS accounts of NewJeans acquaintances strongly suggest its authenticity.
Notably, director Lee Young-eum, who directed NewJeans’ “Bubblegum” music video and many other works, tagged the “jeanzforfree” account in a post containing an image of a rabbit. Rabbits are the symbol of NewJeans. Additionally, director Shin Dong-geul, who worked on music videos for NewJeans songs such as “Super Shy,” “Hype Boy” and “Cookie,” tagged the same account in a post showing an image of a flower rose.
Their first post on this new account features a list of meal donations, including meals, coffee, and heat packs, prepared for anti-impeachment protesters currently demonstrating in Yeouido, South Korea. They made it clear that anyone with a stick bright, regardless of the artist’s fan, he could have received the food.
Currently in Japan for scheduled activities, the members shared an Instagram story, saying: “Stay warm, don’t catch a cold, and enjoy the meals we’ve prepared. It’s pretty cold in Korea right now, so we wanted to make sure you could eat something warm. Let’s see what you are doing together and cheer for you. We hope this helps in some way, so please take care of yourselves and stay strong.”
This development comes after NewJeans held an emergency press conference on November 28 at the Space Share Samsung Center in Gangnam, Seoul, where they announced the termination of their exclusive contract with their agency, ADOR. During the event, NewJeans expressed its desire to pursue independent businesses together with former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin.
In response to the lawsuit filed by ADOR to obtain confirmation of the validity of the group’s exclusivity contracts, NewJeans released a statement.
ADOR did not present substantial evidence in its position statement that there was no breach of contract. Instead, they repeatedly argue that the contract cannot be terminated until their investment is recovered. However, we have already achieved profits exceeding the investments made by ADOR and HYBE. Despite this, HYBE attempted to defame us, devalue our value through smear campaigns and reverse virality, while ADOR, under new management, passively allowed this to happen.
Once again, we make it clear: as of November 29, 2024, we are no longer under ADOR. ADOR has no right to interfere or become involved in our future activities.
