"Our contracts with ADOR have ended as of Nov. 29, 2024, and the five of us will start our new activities, free from HYBE and ADOR," the members of NewJeans said in a statement on Friday afternoon, reiterating the position that they announced the day before to the press.

NewJeans repeated its arguments made during Thursday's emergency press conference, restating that the members made their demands clear to ADOR and that the agency forfeits its right to the artists because it failed to address their needs within the 14-day window.


ADOR has only been making excuses instead of making changes, "giving NewJeans no choice but to leave ADOR, which doesn't fulfill its most basic duty to protect its artists," according to the singers.

"All five of us signed the contract termination notification, which arrived at ADOR on Nov. 29," NewJeans said. "The notice goes into effect as soon as it arrives, which means that the exclusive contract lost its power from that very moment. That gives us no reason to file for an injunction in court, and we are free to pursue our own activities, starting Nov. 29, 2024."

ADOR maintained that the agency tried everything that it could and that its contract with the members still stands. ADOR signed its exclusive contracts with the artists on April 21, 2022, which are set to last until July 31, 2029, the seventh year of the artists' debut, according to ADOR.

"ADOR never breached the contract, and just because [the members of NewJeans] argue that trust has been broken, it does not mean that the contracts can be terminated," the agency said on Thursday after the quintet's press conference.

ADOR planned to hold a NewJeans meet and greet with Korean fans in March, release a full-length album in June or July and start a world tour in August, according to the agency's letter.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]