ADOR Expands Scope of Injunction to Preserve Agency Status (2025Kahap20037)

Hello, this is NJZ.

We are compelled to share our position to respond to ADOR’s additional statement released last Friday and to prevent any misunderstanding about the injunction proceedings scheduled for this week.

We notified ADOR of the termination of our exclusive contract on November 29, 2024, because ADOR failed to fulfill its obligations under the exclusive contract, and accordingly, the contract has been terminated. Therefore, we hereby state that ADOR no longer has any authority to manage or interfere with our activities.

Nevertheless, on January 6, 2025, ADOR filed an injunction seeking recognition that it is still NJZ’s management agency. At the time, ADOR claimed to be only concerned with advertising activities, but the application included a demand to “recognize its status as the management agency.” This is an attempt to restrict all of NJZ’s entertainment activities, not just advertising, revealing that ADOR’s ultimate goal is to completely block NJZ’s activities.

Furthermore, on February 11, 2025, ADOR expanded the scope of its injunction application to request a prohibition not only on advertising but also on all of NJZ’s music activities including songwriting, composing, performing, and singing, as well as all other ancillary activities. This occurred immediately after we received news that “Chairman Bang Si-hyuk had pressured Complex Concert officials,” leading us to believe this was a retaliatory measure taken after their attempt to sabotage our concert was neutralized.

Until just a few days ago, ADOR continuously stated its position on NJZ’s independent activities, yet did not disclose the fact that its injunction application aims to prohibit all entertainment activities. This is a completely different attitude from when they widely publicized their injunction filing on January 6. On the surface, ADOR claims to be concerned only with NJZ’s advertising activities or to be preventing confusion for fans and advertisers, but in reality, they are asking the court to prohibit all of NJZ’s entertainment activities entirely.

This is an attempt to infringe on NJZ’s freedom of occupation, and at the same time, appears to be an intention to avoid public criticism by not disclosing this publicly. The essence of NJZ is our music activities, and restricting them is tantamount to denying NJZ’s very reason for existence. In the end, ADOR filed the injunction from the very beginning to block all of NJZ’s activities.

We have endured continuous discrimination and unfair treatment within HYBE. HYBE clearly expressed its intention not to let us engage in activities for an extended period after the Tokyo Dome fan meeting last June, claiming they would give us a long vacation, and has continuously attempted to undermine our value by making disparaging remarks about our achievements to journalists. Although we did not disclose this first, such attempts have continued even after the termination of the exclusive contract, and have recently become even more severe.

We raised objections and protested to ADOR numerous times, but even when they were our agency, ADOR, far from protecting us, sided with HYBE or other labels, or treated our words as lies. Above all, none of the major activity plans we expected for 2024 were carried out, causing us enormous damage, and even after the termination of the exclusive contract, we continue to face interference and harassment regarding advertising progress, visa issues, and other matters.

We made multiple demands to ADOR to rectify the situation in an effort to maintain the exclusive contract relationship. However, ADOR ignored all of them, and ultimately we had no choice but to decide to terminate the contract.

Due to the accumulation of ADOR’s serious failures to fulfill its obligations, the trust relationship, which is a prerequisite for maintaining the exclusive contract, has long been broken. Under these circumstances, if NJZ can only engage in activities through ADOR, not only would normal entertainment activities be impossible, but we would also have to endure unbearable mental anguish.

ADOR knows this situation better than anyone, yet is mobilizing various methods to block our activities. The injunction and various other obstructive acts are attempts to fundamentally end our careers as artists, and we want to make clear that this is nothing but one-sided harassment intended to drive us into the ground when we are simply trying to continue our activities after lawfully terminating the exclusive contract.

Such termination notice is a standard and general legal procedure based on exclusive contract jurisprudence and civil law. Therefore, the loud claims by ADOR or certain organizations that our independent activities after the termination notice are somehow unlawful or improper are false claims, and it is an absurd argument that only artists should waive the legal procedures and effects guaranteed by law.

We intend to faithfully participate in the injunction proceedings and the main lawsuit scheduled in the future, and we seek to have the legality of the termination confirmed once again through the trial process.

We hope that no one ever has to experience such unfair treatment as we have. Thank you.