The Lawsuit That Shocked K-Pop
Okay, so let’s break this down because it’s wild. Today, legal sources in Seoul confirmed that ADOR (the label under HYBE that manages NewJeans) filed a civil lawsuit against three people: former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin, NewJeans’ Danielle, and one of Danielle’s family members. The amount they’re asking for is 43.09 billion won, which is roughly $30 million. My jaw literally dropped when I saw that number. ADOR is claiming they are legally holding Min Hee-jin and Danielle’s side responsible for “creating the dispute, the member’s departure, and the delay in the member’s return.”
This all happened the day after ADOR announced they were terminating Danielle’s contract. Suing your (now former) star artist is a bold and honestly, heartbreaking, move that nobody saw coming.
Wait, Why Is Danielle Being Sued?
This is the question every Bunnies fan is screaming right now. For months, this has been a corporate battle between HYBE and Min Hee-jin. So how did Danielle get dragged into a multi-million dollar lawsuit?
Here’s a quick catch-up: back in November 2024, after Min Hee-jin was dismissed by HYBE, all the NewJeans members tried to get their contracts nullified to support her. ADOR fought back legally, and the court sided with the agency, confirming the contracts were still valid. Since then, some members have decided to return to ADOR. Haerin and Hyein came back first, and just yesterday, ADOR announced Hanni would also be rejoining. Talks were apparently ongoing with Minji and Danielle.
But things clearly fell apart with Danielle. ADOR’s official statement said they decided it was “no longer possible to continue working with her” and that they blame her side and Min Hee-jin for delaying the group’s activities and causing all this chaos.
The HYBE vs. Min Hee-jin Saga: A Quick Recap
If you’re new here, this whole mess started in 2024. HYBE, the parent company of ADOR, accused CEO Min Hee-jin of attempting to stage a hostile takeover and essentially steal NewJeans. Min Hee-jin fired back with her now-legendary, super emotional press conferences, accusing HYBE of mistreating her and copying NewJeans’ concepts for their other groups.
It’s been a non-stop battle of lawsuits and countersuits about shareholder agreements, put options, and defamation ever since. This new lawsuit against Danielle and Min Hee-jin has been assigned to the same court division that’s handling all those other cases, so it’s all being treated as one giant, complicated legal war.
What Does This Mean for NewJeans?
The future feels so uncertain right now. ADOR has confirmed that Hanni will join Haerin and Hyein, and that talks with Minji are still ongoing. But with Danielle officially out and now being sued by the company, it’s hard to imagine NewJeans ever being the same five-member group we love. This legal battle could drag on for a long, long time, and it’s just sad to see the girls caught in the middle of this corporate fight. We’ll have to wait and see what happens next, but honestly, it’s just a really sad day for K-Pop.
