K-pop band member sued for $30m after record label feud

Chart-topping Ok-pop band NewJeans’ document label, Ador, is suing one of many band’s members in what’s one more twist of their bitter year-long feud.

Hybe, the document label’s father or mother firm, confirmed to the BBC that it’s suing Danielle Marsh, considered one of her relations, and ex-boss Min Hee-jin for $30m (£22m) in damages and as a part of a contract break penalty.

The band has been plunged into additional turmoil because the return of Minji, one other of its stars, stays unsure, leaving the band with three members.

Coming lower than two months after stories that NewJeans would return to the label as a band of 5, this information dashes followers’ hopes of a comeback.

Many took to social media with the slogan: “NewJeans is 5 or nothing, whereas others questioned why Danielle was singled out.

“Does this make any sense??? NewJeans with out Danielle is not NewJeans. Do you assume you may simply erase a member this simply? Give us again Danielle,” one wrote in an X publish.

“It is not truthful in any respect. Free NewJeans [all 5 members],” one other wrote on Instagram. “All they needed to do was to be [artists] and make their followers completely satisfied.”

NewJeans, which grew to become the eighth biggest-selling act on this planet a 12 months after their debut in 2022, have been seen as a game-changer by critics for his or her mix of Nineties R&B and sugar-coated pop melodies.

Then got here a dramatic fallout with the document label Ador in 2024, sparked by the controversial dismissal of the company’s former CEO Min Hee-jin, whom NewJeans considered a mentor.

The transfer shook the Ok-pop world, setting off a battle between vastly profitable and really younger stars – they’re between 17 and 21 years of age – and the South Korean leisure large, Hybe.

NewJeans accused Ador of “mistreatment” and “deliberate miscommunications and manipulation”, then introduced they would depart the company. Ador in flip launched a lawsuit blocking their departure, which it gained in October this 12 months. A district court docket dominated that NewJeans should honour their contract with the label which runs till 2029.

A month later, native media stories indicated that every one 5 members would return to the company.

Then in a stunning flip, Ador issued a press release on Monday, saying it had terminated its contract with Danielle and would take authorized motion in opposition to a member of the family of hers and Min, who based the label and created NewJeans earlier than her dramatic departure.

Each of them, Ador claims, “bear important accountability” for the fallout between the company and the Ok-pop group.

Monday’s assertion didn’t point out a lawsuit in opposition to Danielle, saying solely that Ador had determined it was troublesome to proceed working along with her, and advised her they might be ending the contract.

Ador additionally claimed that NewJeans’ members had been “uncovered to persistently distorted and biased data” which led to “important misunderstandings” concerning the label.

That assertion named two different NewJeans members: Hanni, who it mentioned determined to stay with the label after “prolonged conversations” which included her household, and Minji, who continues to be in “ongoing conversations” with the company.

It has been a whirlwind for followers, particularly since Ador initially introduced in November that solely two members, Hyein and Haerin, would return to the company, sparking fears the group would break up up.

These fears have been allayed when Hanni, Danielle and Minji mentioned in a separate assertion hours later that they too would return – however just for a short while, because it seems.

“NewJeans is an important group that modified the world of feminine Ok-pop acts. For the music listeners and followers, it has been the hope to see their return as a full five-member crew. That is now not attainable,” music critic Lim Hee-yun advised the BBC, including that this consequence wouldn’t “make anybody completely satisfied”.

Mr Lim believes Ador can be pressured to recruit new members into the group, particularly if Minji additionally leaves the label.

It’s arduous for three-member teams to search out success within the Ok-pop trade, the place followers pay shut consideration to the relationships and chemistry between members.

Danielle’s future as a musician can be unsure.

“Not solely will there be a big a part of the general public that see her negatively [because of this controversy], however the document labels will too… She may have to pursue being a solo act as an actor, mannequin, or an influencer,” Mr Lim mentioned.

Extra reporting by Leehyun Choi and Hosu Lee in Seoul