Hybe defends NewJeans' contracts amid scrutiny over leaked agreements

Hybe and Ador are defending NewJeans’ exclusive contracts. Their response addresses concerns about minors, penalties, surveillance, and control over voices and likenesses. They say the agreements followed South Korean standards and protected the members’ rights. That matters because all five members were minors when they signed in 2022.

Families received draft contracts on January 7, 2022. Nearly three months of correspondence, revisions, and legal reviews followed. The agreements were signed in April. Hybe says termination payments used different wording from the government formula. However, it argues the financial result was effectively the same. Revenue-generating periods counted, while predebut time did not.

Hybe also says consent was required for voices, likenesses, and AI content. It says cameras covered common areas, while families controlled education decisions. Hybe cites a Seoul High Court ruling finding sufficient discussion. Min Hee-jin’s representatives reject this, saying Hybe’s legal team revised the contracts. The dispute leaves responsibility and fairness contested.

An exclusive entertainment contract gives an agency primary rights to manage and represent an artist for a fixed period. It usually sets the artist’s work duties, agency services, payment rules, and limits on outside work. The agency may arrange projects and licensing, while the artist follows agreed schedules and shares revenue.

For example, all five NewJeans members signed exclusive contracts in April 2022, while they were minors. Hybe said negotiations lasted nearly three months and included members, parents, and legal representatives. The agreement’s mechanism is mutual: the agency receives exclusive control, while artists receive representation, payment terms, and protections.

These contracts can address termination, likeness, voice use, education, rest, privacy, and financial penalties. Hybe said its contracts required individual consent for voices and likenesses, while a Seoul court accepted its penalty method. Min Hee-jin’s representatives disputed who led drafting, showing why clear terms and independent legal advice matter.

All five NewJeans members were minors when contracts were signed. Their contracts therefore involved extra protections and negotiations with families and legal representatives. Hybe says the process lasted nearly three months, from drafts on January 7, 2022, to signed agreements in April.

This mattered because the investigation questioned whether young artists had enough influence over major contract terms. Hybe says members and families reviewed drafts, suggested changes, exchanged written correspondence, and obtained legal reviews. Min Hee-jin led negotiations, while legal representatives participated for certain members, according to Hybe.

Hybe maintains the final agreements met South Korean standards and reflected sufficient discussion. Min’s representatives dispute that account, saying Hybe’s legal team led drafting and revisions. Thus, the confirmed timeline is clear, but the parties still disagree about who controlled the contract process.

South Korea’s standard supplementary agreement for minor trainees adds protections to ordinary entertainment contracts. It safeguards personal rights and recognizes sleep, education, and rest as protected needs.

Hybe said these agreements remain effective until trainees become adults. For NewJeans, all five members were minors when their contracts were signed in April 2022. Their families received drafts January 7, followed by nearly three months of revisions and legal reviews.

The arrangement is meant to protect young performers while they train and work. Hybe said education decisions remained with the artists and their families, and cameras covered only common areas. The Seoul High Court recognized the contracts after finding sufficient discussions had occurred. These protections remain important as Hybe and former Ador CEO Min Hee-jin dispute who controlled negotiations.

Ending an exclusive contract early could trigger a financial penalty. This matters because leaving early can create a payment obligation under the agreement. The source does not give a fixed amount for any NewJeans member.

Hybe said NewJeans’ contracts used different wording from the government’s standard exclusive contract. The company said the result was financially the same as the standard formula. It calculated penalties from periods when the group generated revenue, while excluding the predebut period.

Hybe also said the Seoul High Court found no problem with this calculation method. Therefore, an early exit could require payment based on the contract’s revenue history, rather than unpaid predebut time. The exact amount remains unclear because the article provides no member-specific figure.

Authority over the negotiations is disputed, not settled by the article. Hybe says former Ador CEO Min Hee-jin led the process with members, parents, and lawyers. Min’s representatives say Hybe’s legal team controlled drafting and revisions because Ador lacked its own legal department.

Hybe says families received drafts on January 7, 2022, followed by nearly three months of discussions before April signatures. It identifies Min, an Ador vice president, the members, parents, and some legal representatives as participants. The company also cites a Seoul High Court ruling recognizing sufficient discussions.

The disagreement reflects different claims about participation versus final authority. Hybe emphasizes negotiation and signatures inside Ador; Min’s representatives emphasize Hybe’s approval power over the wording. The practical record is that contracts were signed in April 2022, while both sides still contest who truly controlled them.

Entertainment contracts set the permissions for using an artist’s voice, likeness, image, or digital replica. They may require separate consent, limit approved uses, and specify who controls recordings and related content. This matters because commercial exposure can continue across advertising, entertainment, and AI-generated media.

In the NewJeans case, Hybe said the 2022 agreements did not allow unauthorized use of members’ voices or likenesses, including AI-generated content. It said individual consent was required, meaning permission had to come from the specific artist rather than being automatic. The New York Times investigation had raised questions about these protections, while Hybe defended the contracts as legally compliant.

The practical reality remains contested. Ador’s parent company said members, parents, and legal representatives negotiated the agreements for nearly three months, but Min Hee-jin’s representatives disputed Hybe’s account. That disagreement shows contract wording and documented consent can become crucial when artists challenge commercial use.