NewJeans announced in November 2024 that they were leaving ADOR, but a court later ruled that their exclusive contracts remained valid. The five members did not appeal, and their later agency situations diverged. Their use of the name NJZ during the dispute does not, by itself, establish who has the legal right to use that name.
Did NewJeans leave ADOR?
The members announced in November 2024 that they were terminating their exclusive contracts and leaving ADOR. ADOR disputed that the contracts had ended. The dispute therefore turned not just on what the members announced, but on whether they were legally free to work independently.
On October 30, 2025, the Seoul Central District Court ruled that the exclusive contracts between ADOR and all five members remained valid. Yonhap reported that the court rejected the argument that Min Hee-jin’s dismissal amounted to a breach of those contracts. The ruling was a court decision about the contracts, not simply a statement of ADOR’s position.
The members did not appeal before the deadline. In November 2025, they said they would return to ADOR. That sequence means their 2024 announcement was not the final legal outcome: the contracts were upheld, and the members did not pursue an appeal.
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What happened to NJZ and the NewJeans name?
In March 2025, the members publicly used NJZ as an alternate name while the contract dispute was underway. ADOR challenged their independent activities and their use of a name other than NewJeans. TIME reported on the NJZ phase and ADOR’s challenge.
Using NJZ publicly during the dispute is different from having a final legal determination of trademark rights. The available reporting does not establish a final decision by the Korean Intellectual Property Office on NJZ trademark applications. It therefore does not support a definitive claim that the members won or lost the right to use NJZ, or that the name dispute has been resolved.
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Where did each member’s ADOR situation stand?
The court’s October 2025 decision concerned the contracts of all five members. Later agency developments were individual, and should not be collapsed into a single claim that all five either returned to ADOR or left together.
- Hanni: In December 2025, ADOR said she would remain with the agency.
- Danielle: ADOR said it had terminated her exclusive contract. A September 2026 report said ADOR’s damages lawsuit involving Danielle, a family member, and Min Hee-jin was still ongoing. Allegations in that case are disputed claims, not findings of liability.
- Minji: ADOR described discussions with her as continuing in December 2025. A September 2026 report said her return terms had not been finalized.
These agency updates do not undo the court’s ruling about the original contracts; they describe later, member-specific developments.
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What the dispute means now
The story has three distinct parts: the members’ November 2024 declaration that they were leaving, the court’s October 2025 ruling that their contracts remained valid, and the later changes in individual agency status. The first was an announcement; the second settled the contract question after no appeal was filed; the third describes subsequent developments involving particular members.
The name question remains separate. The members used NJZ during the dispute and ADOR challenged that independent use, but the reporting cited here does not establish a final trademark-office ruling. Any account that treats NJZ’s legal status as definitively settled goes beyond what these sources confirm.
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