The group New Jeans (NJZ) has revealed the reason for their activity suspension.
On the 26th, BBC News Korea released a video titled 'New Jeans, Reasons for NJZ Activity Suspension' on their official YouTube channel.
On this day, BBC shared two interviews conducted before and after the injunction ruling with Ador. Hani stated, "The decisions we've made over the past year have all been made after tremendous discussions within our team," adding, "To be honest, it's not comfortable to keep bringing this up. Other teams are involved, and we don't want to influence them in any way. There’s no reason or need for that. (However) if we don’t express our thoughts and feelings publicly, people won’t know. I think people would only believe what is reported in the media."
Minji explained, "Every time we need to voice our opinions, our story gets covered in many places. Of course, it was scary, and it’s something I’ve thought a lot about for my future," indicating that the decision to part ways with their agency Ador was made after much contemplation.
The BBC asked, "There are comments suggesting that 'adults are influencing you from behind.' How much have you deliberated and decided on the legal issues?" Hani responded, "In my opinion, those kinds of suspicions seem to trivialize the fact that we are actually doing something to resolve this issue because we are young." She continued, "People easily say, 'They are young. They couldn't have made that decision on their own.' But that doesn’t mean we take this situation less seriously or that we are not contemplating it deeply. We always said to each other, 'If even one of us doesn’t want to, we won’t do it.' We could only choose if all five of us agreed."
Daniel also shared, "In 2024, as I personally experienced this situation, I tried to hide everything quietly. I suppressed my feelings and tried to ignore what was happening around me because we were preparing for a comeback when this situation started. But at some point, the emotions I had suppressed reached a breaking point, and it hurt my heart," explaining why they had to engage in legal disputes.
On the 21st, the court granted an injunction to preserve Ador's status as a planning agency and to prohibit the signing of advertising contracts.
After the court ruling, the members shared their feelings in another interview. Daniel said, "I really expected a different outcome, and I remember everyone who saw the news was shocked."
Hyein remarked, "Some people might think we are famous and can do whatever we want and say whatever we want," adding, "We have been enduring a lot, and we have just now begun to voice the injustices we have faced, but honestly, socially, the situation is not flowing in our favor. However, I believe that situation itself tells the truth. We spoke up with immense courage," she emphasized. Daniel added, "We just want to continue working. We want to keep doing what we love without being hindered by lies and misunderstandings."
Hani expressed, "Our biggest fear is whether we can continue doing this work. That’s why we are moving forward. But this fear always lingers in the back of our minds. Anything can happen, and we never expected to face such situations back when we were trainees two years ago. We don’t know what the future holds. There might come a time when we can no longer continue our activities, and I really want to avoid that. Anything can happen, but I truly want to avoid such a situation," revealing her fears.
Previously, New Jeans held an emergency press conference last November, announcing that their exclusive contract with Ador had been terminated due to a breach. They later announced their new group name, NJZ, and began independent activities.
In the meantime, Ador filed for an injunction to preserve its status as a planning agency and to prohibit the signing of advertising contracts. On the 21st, the court made a ruling in favor of this request. The court determined that the members of New Jeans should not engage in entertainment activities on their own or through third parties without Ador's prior approval or consent. The members submitted an objection on the same day.
On the 23rd, New Jeans took the stage at ComplexCon held at AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong, announcing, "We have decided to temporarily halt all activities to respect the court's judgment. We know that our choice will not be easy, but this is about protecting ourselves."
[Kim So-yeon, Star Today Reporter]
