“This is evidence that creditors are damaging their reputation”- NJZ alleges HYBE prohibited them from wearing Jeju Air disaster memorial ribbons

On March 7, 2025, the legal dispute between NJZ and HYBE continued in court. The Seoul Central District Court’s Civil Division 50 held a hearing at 10:30 am after ADOR filed an injunction to prevent NewJeans from signing independent advertising contracts.

During the hearing, the K-pop act's legal representatives presented claims that the K-pop conglomerate had actively undermined the group’s reputation. They cited a December incident related to the Jeju Air tragedy at Muan International Airport.

“At the time, the members tried to wear disaster ribbons on stage in Japan, but HYBE stopped them, saying, ‘The Japanese broadcasting station might take issue with it. ’ However, after checking, we were told that there was no problem at all with the Japanese broadcasting station. In the end, Hani hurriedly made a memorial ribbon and went on stage," the girl group's representative said.

NJZ’s side further noted that other HYBE artists were later seen wearing general memorial ribbons.

“After that, Tightest from HYBE was found on stage wearing a regular memorial ribbon. If the debtors had listened to the creditors, this would have been a target of criticism. This is evidence that the creditors are damaging the debtors’ reputations behind the scenes.”

In January 2025, ADOR, NewJeans’ agency under HYBE, filed an injunction. They aimed to limit the group from signing ad contracts on their own. The company raised concerns about the members engaging in solo activities before a legal ruling.

This included a contest for a new group name. ADOR argued that such actions could be a serious violation of their contract.

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NJZ's legal battle with ADOR, explained

The hearing marks the first court proceeding since NJZ declared the termination of their exclusive contract with ADOR in November 2024. The K-pop group, however, pushed back against the claims.

“Even after the termination of the exclusive contract, we wished to peacefully complete the remaining schedules and contracts without causing harm to anyone involved. However, observing ADOR and HYBE's continued harmful actions through improper methods, we decided not to remain silent any longer," the group said.

They added;

"Through legal proceedings, we intend to clearly expose the wrongdoings of ADOR and HYBE, and fight valiantly in court to reveal the truth."

After legally separating from its subsidiary label, NewJeans rebranded as NJZ. They launched new official social media accounts and started operating independently. NJZ plans to release a new song in March and perform at the Complex Live festival in Hong Kong. There, they will debut the track under their new identity.

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In other news, ADOR stated that NJZ was promoted as “the next BTS” at Min Hee-jin’s request. According to the South Korean agency, the group appeared in BTS’ music videos before debuting and also joined dance challenges with other HYBE artists for new song releases.

They were introduced as “BTS’s little sister” and marketed as “the next BTS” and “surpassing BTS.” ADOR claimed that this was the only instance within HYBE where another group’s popularity was used for promotion.