K-pop band member sued for $30 million over feud with record label

Ador, the record label of chart-topping K-pop band NewJeans, has sued one of the band members in another twist in their year-long feud.

The record label’s parent company, Hybe, confirmed to the BBC that it had sued one of the family members, Danielle Marsh, and former boss Min Hee-jin for damages and part of a contract-breaking penalty.

The band fell into even greater confusion as the return of Minzy, another star of the band, became uncertain. member.

The news, which comes less than two months after it was reported that NewJeans would return to the label as a five-piece band, dashed fans’ hopes of a comeback.

Many people took to social media with the slogan “NewJeans are 5 or nothing,” while others questioned why Danielle was selected.

“Does this make sense??? New Gene without Daniel is not New Gene. Do you think you can delete a member this easily? Please return Daniel.”

Another person wrote on Instagram: “Not fair at all. They give NewJeans (all 5 members) away for free.” “All they wanted to do was be (artists) and make their fans happy.”

New Jeans, who ranked 8th among the best-selling singers in the world just a year after their debut in 2022, was evaluated by critics as a game changer by combining 1990s R&B with sugar-coated pop melodies.

Then, in 2024, there was a dramatic fallout for the record label Ador, sparked by controversy over the dismissal of former agency CEO Min Hee-jin, whom New Jeans considered a mentor.

The move rocked the K-pop world, sparking a fight between hugely successful and very young stars (aged between 17 and 21) and South Korean entertainment giant Hive.

New Jeans accused Ador of “abuse” and “intentional misunderstanding and manipulation” and announced that it would leave the agency. Ador filed a lawsuit to block their departure and won in October of this year. The district court ruled that NewJeans must honor its contract with the label, which runs until 2029.

A month later, local media reported that all five members would return to their agency.

But surprisingly, Ador issued a statement on Monday saying he had terminated his contract with Danielle and would take legal action against her and Min’s family, who founded NewJeans before her dramatic departure.

Ador claims that both men “bear a significant amount of responsibility” for the fallout between the company and the K-pop group.

Monday’s statement made no mention of the lawsuit against Danielle, saying only that Ador had found it difficult to continue working with her and had said he would terminate her contract.

Ador also claimed that members of NewJeans were “constantly exposed to distorted and biased information,” resulting in “significant misunderstandings” about the label.

Two other members of New Genes were mentioned in the statement. Hanni decided to remain with the label after “long conversations” involving her family, while Minzy is still in “ongoing conversations” with the label.

In particular, after Ador first announced that only two members, Hyein and Haerin, would return to the agency last November, a whirlwind was created among fans, sparking concerns that the group would be disbanded.

Those fears were allayed when Hanni, Daniel and Minzy revealed in separate statements a few hours later that they too would be returning. But as it turns out, this was only for a short period of time.

“New Jeans is a very important group that changed the world of K-pop female singers. It was a hope for music listeners and fans to see them return as a full five-member team. That is no longer possible.” Music critic Lim Hee-yoon told the BBC. And these results “won’t make anyone happy,” he added.

Lim believes Ador will be under pressure to recruit new members to the group, especially if Minji also leaves the label.

It is difficult for a three-member group to succeed in the K-pop industry, where fans focus on the relationships and chemistry between members.

Daniel’s future as a musician is also uncertain.

“Not only will there be a lot of public who will view her negatively (due to this controversy), but so will her record label. She may have to pursue a solo career as an actress, model or influencer,” Lim said.

Additional coverage by Choi Yi-hyeon and Lee Ho-soo from Seoul