The five-member girl group – consisting of Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin and Hyein – went on indefinite hiatus last month after a Seoul court ruled they could no longer operate outside the oversight of their label, Ador.
The group, which made its debut in 2022, had been hailed as K-pop’s breakout act of the decade for its Y2K-inspired visuals, genre-blending sound and global partnerships with brands such as Chanel and Coca-Cola.
Legal disputes between K-pop idols and agencies are hardly new, but what set the NewJeans controversy apart was the unprecedented public messaging from the group, its direct defiance of a major label and the polarising role played by Min, the group’s creative force who often described its members as being like her children.
