NJZ's alleged final statement at the injunction trial with ADOR gains attention amid their hiatus announcement

NJZ, formerly known as NewJeans, announced a temporary hiatus during their performance at Hong Kong's ComplexCon on March 23, 2025. This announcement comes amid an ongoing legal battle with their former agency, ADOR, over contract disputes and the rights to their group name.

While announcing their temporary hiatus, the group members gave their last statements on stage at ComplexCon. The statement went viral on the Korean online forum TheQoo.

Danielle allegedly mentioned the former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin and called her the sixth member of NewJeans. She said,

"Min Hee Jin is considered one of our members. It feels like one of our members has been hurt right now. I am so scared that we will lose our CEO. Although we are five, we are no different than being six members. No matter what, we want to be together with Min Hee Jin."

Additionally, Hanni claimed that HYBE fears the group's "success" and is allegedly trying to sabotage them "behind the scenes."

"I think HYBE is acting out of fear..fear of our success. They are trying to stop us with this injunction because they are scared. They want to work with us, yet they destroy us behind the scenes. I cannot trust them. I always felt that HYBE never respected us. ADOR is now filled with HYBE people, and I can’t work with people I can’t trust."

NJZ members Haerin, Hyein, and Minji reportedly added that they always allegedly felt discriminated against by other HYBE artists and didn't want to be separated from Min Hee-jin.

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NewJeans performs at ComplexCon as NJZ and announces hiatus without label's permission

On March 24, 2025, Chosun Ilbo reported that ADOR's staff who were sent to Hong Kong to assist the group couldn't contact NJZ. Furthermore, the group performed at the ComplexCon on March 23 under their new name and not as NJZ. The group also sold goods under the new name's trademark.

For the unversed, NewJeans declared the termination of their contract with the label in November 2024. ADOR contested the contract termination, asserting that the agreements remained valid. The agency filed an injunction in January 2025 to prevent them from engaging in independent activities. In February 2025, they announced their new group name "NJZ" without the label's consent.

On March 21, 2025, the Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of ADOR, granting the injunction and prohibiting NJZ from pursuing independent projects without the agency's consent.

Meanwhile, Chosun Ilbo reported that the girl group re-debuted a new song, Pit Stop, at ComplexCon. Although they directly didn't mention their new group name and introduced themselves with their respective name, they made sure that there was no mention of the moniker "NewJeans."

The group also stated that due to the ongoing court battles, they will suspend their activities temporarily and will not resume schedules as NewJeans and as ADOR artists. According to the same publication, the label wasn't aware of the group's hiatus plan.

Meanwhile, ADOR responded to the events that happened at the ComplexCon which was a rebellion of the court's direct orders. ADOR expressed regret over the group's decision to perform under the NJZ name despite the court's ruling. The agency emphasized its desire to support the artists and requested a meeting to discuss their future.

Yonhap TV News reported that the label said,

"We feel very sorry that they forced a performance under a name other than New Jeans and unilaterally declared a hiatus.We hope to meet again soon and discuss our future."

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Currently, both ADOR and NJZ await their first court hearing of the contract termination lawsuit. It will be held on April 3, 2025, at the Seoul Central District Court.