The New York Times published an investigation into the exclusive contracts NewJeans signed with ADOR in 2022, when all five members were minors. HYBE, ADOR, and Min Hee-jin’s side have each responded. Korea JoongAng Daily, The Korea Herald, and The Korea Times carried the statements.

According to Korea JoongAng Daily’s account of the Times report, the contracts were signed when the members were between 14 and 17, and they differed from South Korea’s government-standard exclusive-contract template on several points, including language around protections for minors. The Times report also described conduct rules, how early-termination penalties are calculated, and rights to use members’ names, images, and voices after the contracts end in 2029, including for AI-generated content. We are summarizing those points through the Korean outlets that covered the report; read the Times investigation itself for the full reporting.

HYBE and ADOR say the contracts complied with Korean law and were negotiated with the members, their parents, and lawyers representing them. In a statement carried by The Korea Herald, HYBE said:

All Hybe labels enter into the government-standard supplementary agreement for minors with their trainees. These agreements include provisions protecting personal rights, the right to sleep, the right to education, and the right to rest, among others. They remain in effect until the individuals reach adulthood.

HYBE said draft contracts went out on January 7, 2022, and that nearly three months of written exchanges, proposed revisions, and lawyer reviews followed before the agreements were signed in April. It also pointed to a Seoul High Court ruling that, in its view, recognized the contracts took effect after sufficient discussion. On early-termination fees, HYBE said the wording differs from the government template but that the calculation method produces the same financial outcome, and that the Seoul High Court found no problem with it. HYBE said use of members’ voices and likenesses, including AI-generated content, requires individual consent, that security cameras were only in common areas for safety, and that education decisions were left to the artists and their families.

ADOR’s statement, as reported by Korea JoongAng Daily, added:

The draft contracts were shared on Jan. 7, 2022, and the agreements were signed in April following three months of extensive discussions, including Q&A sessions, email exchanges and negotiations over revisions reviewed by lawyers representing the artists.

ADOR also said:

The NewJeans contracts include provisions protecting the members’ personal rights, and any use of their images or voices in AI-generated content would require their individual consent.

On who negotiated the deals, HYBE told The Korea Herald that it gave the Times supporting evidence showing the contracts were negotiated, finalized, and signed by Min Hee-jin, then CEO of ADOR; a vice president appointed by Min; the individual members and their parents; and lawyers for certain members.

Min Hee-jin’s side rejected that framing. In an official statement carried by The Korea Times, it said HYBE had final approval authority and that HYBE’s counsel prepared the initial drafts and handled later revisions. The statement said Ador could not finalize the agreements without review and approval from HYBE’s counsel, chief financial officer, and CEO.

It is time for HYBE to move beyond the absurd notion that Min Hee-jin is responsible for everything and demonstrate accountability and a willingness to improve for the future of K-pop.

Min’s side said Ador could negotiate some settlement or expense-sharing details, but that did not mean it could independently change the contracts’ basic structure or major policy provisions set by HYBE. It also said the roughly three-month exchange of questions, emails, lawyer reviews, and wording clarifications was not the same as substantive decision-making power over the key terms:

The structure itself, in which HYBE prepared the key provisions of the contracts and participated in the final approval process, did not change.

We’re laying out what each side has put on the record. We’re not taking a side. Here’s NewJeans’ ‘ETA’ MV.