"Even the police can't do that"— Netizens react as ADOR staff expose the agency for their alleged inhumane treatment following NewJeans' termination

On Friday, December 6, Korean media outlet Channel A published statements from ADOR staff members regarding the agency's treatment and behavior towards them. They claimed that the agency confiscated their laptops and personal mobile phones and also locked the staff in the office for over three hours. This behavior reportedly began after NewJeans' terminated their contract with ADOR.

On November 28, through an emergency press conference, NewJeans members revealed that they will be terminating their exclusive contract with ADOR as of November 29, 12 am KST. This followed the agency's failure to meet the group's 14-day ultimatum, which demanded ADOR take certain actions in order for the group to continue promoting under the agency.

The agency was unhappy with NewJeans' decision to terminate the contract through an emergency press conference and also subsequently filed a lawsuit against the members on the grounds of their contract's validity. Amidst these developments, ADOR's staff accused the agency of mistreatment and showcasing inhumane behavior.

A staff member's statement to Channel A read:

"There were unnecessary frequent interviews and harassment of performance directors and employees, and managers were asked to hand over their personal phones. They even forcibly detained them in the office for more than 3 hours, preventing them from going home."

Netizens were shocked by the agency's behavior. They took to social media to criticize ADOR and called out their inhumane treatment, which can be deemed illegal.

"Even the police can’t do that."

"Disgusting company. So unprofessional. They don't value their staffs and artists," said a fan on X.

"There's your proof that ADOR doesn't give a sh*t about NewJeans. One more piece of evidence to get them away from HYBE," added another fan.

"Toxic to the end. What a sh*t environment to work. Newjeans couldn’t even trust the people that they’re supposed to rely on," commented a netizen.

More fans and netizens talked about how the agency's alleged behavior was both scary and concerning.

"Expect NJ to want to continue working with them when this is how they behave," stated a fan.

"Acting out of fear and frustration, and this frustration is now being taken out on the staff," added an X user.

"This is already scary, we have to get out of there running, NJ has to keep fighting," said a netizen.

"Their public persona and their internal shenanigans are violently worlds apart. Its continuously shocking," commented another X user.

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NewJeans announces their departure from ADOR through an emergency press conference

On November 28, NewJeans members held an emergency press conference where they shared that they will be leaving ADOR after the termination of their exclusive contract with the agency. They stated that their demands from the 14-day ultimatum were not met and they fail to see the agency's ability to protect the group and the members.

During the press conference, Minji explained that they received an email from ADOR right before the press conference. While the contents of the email were not revealed, they stated that since there was no substantial action from the agency, the members have decided to go with their initial plan of terminating their contract.

"They sent their response an hour before and we confirmed it. The contents of the email were serious. The email stated that 14 days was not enough time, that they regretted there was no communication with ADOR, and that there were matters they couldn't address because they weren't ADOR's doing," Minji said.

She continued,

"However, they took no substantial action and we had made these demands back in September as well. The email was full of lies and excuses and was merely a stalling tactic. Therefore, we are terminating our exclusive contract as of midnight on the 29th."

As a response to the press conference, ADOR stated that they regretted to see the termination happen and the press conference being held without the members carefully reviewing the email. They further requested the members to consider continuing working with the agency since the contract is allegedly still valid.

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However, on December 5, they filed a lawsuit against NewJeans to legally confirm the validity of their exclusive contract.