NewJeans' agency ADOR terminates Danielle’s contract, signals legal action over dispute

ADOR has cut ties with NewJeans member Danielle and warned of legal action against her family over the dispute

ADOR, representing K-pop girl group NewJeans, has terminated its exclusive contract with member Danielle and announced plans to pursue legal measures against her family, citing their responsibility for the ongoing conflict surrounding the group.

In a statement released on Monday, the HYBE subsidiary, said it had concluded that Danielle could no longer continue as both a member of NewJeans and an artist under the agency. “We decided that it would be difficult for Danielle to continue both as a member of NewJeans and an artist at ADOR, and we have notified her that the contract has been terminated,” the company said.

ADOR added that it would take legal action against members of Danielle’s family and former chief executive Min Hee-jin, stating that they “hold grave responsibility not only in our conflict between NewJeans, but the members’ delayed return to the agency.”

The announcement comes around six weeks after ADOR said that members Haerin and Hyein had chosen to end their dispute with the agency and return. At the time, Minji, Hanni and Danielle also indicated their intention to return. However, ADOR later clarified that no final agreement had been reached with all members.

According to the agency, Hanni is set to return to ADOR, while discussions with Minji are continuing “to expand the mutual understanding between the two parties.” Danielle, however, was singled out as an exception to this process.

ADOR claimed that the conflict stemmed from the members being provided with “continuous and twisted information about the company over an extended period of time.” Despite this, the agency said it had initially hoped to resolve misunderstandings in order to restore trust with fans and the public.

The company said it plans to explain the full details of the dispute at a separate event, with further information to be announced.