What Happened to NewJeans: The ADOR Dispute, Dated, and Where Each Member Stands

"Our contract will be terminated as of midnight, today." Minji said it at a Seoul press conference on November 28, 2024, with the other four members of NewJeans beside her, the Korea Herald reported. The contract didn't end. In October 2025 a Seoul court ruled that it runs until 2029. That is the short answer to what happened to NewJeans: the members tried to leave their label, ADOR, and lost in court. As of early October 2026, three of them are back under ADOR, Minji's return is still being negotiated, Danielle is out of the group and being sued by ADOR, and no comeback date has been set.

Below: the run from April 2024 to the September 10, 2026 hearing on one timeline, then where each member stands, sourced row by row. Profiles are on our NewJeans members page.

How a label fight became the group's fight

NewJeans belonged to ADOR, a label inside HYBE, and in 2023 the group won Artist of the Year and Song of the Year for "Ditto" at the MAMA Awards (our MAMA Awards guide lists every recent grand prize). The trouble started one level up. In April 2024 HYBE asked ADOR's CEO, Min Hee-jin, who also produced the group, to resign, per the Korea Herald. In that fight Min claimed that ILLIT, a girl group from HYBE's label Belift Lab, had copied NewJeans' hair, makeup, styling and choreography, as Ilgan Sports recounted in September 2026. She was dismissed as CEO in August 2024 and stepped down from ADOR that November.

The members took her side. Their demands included her reinstatement, and when ADOR's deadline passed without it, they called the November press conference, arguing that ADOR and HYBE had broken the contract first. ADOR went to court, asking a judge to confirm the contracts were valid and to bar the members from working on their own.

What happened to NewJeans, date by date

Date	What happened	Source
April 2024	HYBE asks ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin to resign	Korea Herald
August 2024	Min is dismissed as ADOR's CEO	Korea Times
Nov 28, 2024	All five members say their contracts end at midnight because ADOR and HYBE broke them	Korea Herald
Feb 7, 2025	The members announce a new name, NJZ	Rolling Stone UK
Mar 21, 2025	Seoul Central District Court grants ADOR's injunction against independent activity	Soompi
Mar 23, 2025	As NJZ, they debut "Pit Stop" at ComplexCon Hong Kong and announce a pause	Soompi
May 2025	Court sets a penalty of 1 billion won per member for each activity without ADOR's consent	Korea Herald
Jun 17, 2025	Seoul High Court rejects the members' appeal against the injunction	Korea Herald
Oct 30, 2025	Court rules the contracts valid until 2029; the members' lawyers say they will appeal	Korea Times
Nov 12–13, 2025	Haerin and Hyein return through ADOR; Minji, Hanni and Danielle announce a return through their own lawyers	Korea Herald
Dec 29, 2025	ADOR confirms Hanni's return, ends Danielle's contract and says talks with Minji continue	Korea Herald
December 2025	ADOR sues Danielle, a family member and Min for about 43.1 billion won	Korea Times
Jan 12, 2026	Danielle's first livestream since her exit: "I fought until the very end"	Korea Times
April 2026	Hanni, Haerin and Hyein work in Copenhagen; Minji is not there	Korea Herald
Jun 5, 2026	ADOR cuts its claim to about 33.1 billion won after changing lawyers	Newsis (Korean)
Jul 22, 2026	Five anniversary videos with Minji, Hanni, Haerin and Hyein; ADOR says plans follow once talks finish	Hankyung (Korean)
August 2026	Haerin and Hyein get September magazine covers, their first solo work since returning	Tenasia, Topstar News (Korean)
Sep 10, 2026	Fifth hearing in the Danielle case; the next is set for October 22	Ilgan Sports (Korean)

The count behind the timeline. Every court decision in this table went ADOR's way, four of them between March and October 2025. Of the five members at that press conference, three have signed back: Haerin and Hyein in November 2025, Hanni in December. One is unresolved. Minji said through her lawyers in November 2025 that she would return, and ADOR's latest word, in July 2026, was that the talks were still going in a positive direction. One is out. The case against Danielle has had five hearings, ADOR has cut its claim by about 10 billion won, and there is no ruling.

The NJZ episode, February to March 2025

NJZ was the name the members chose while they considered themselves free of ADOR. They announced it on February 7, 2025, with Hanni calling it a way of "turning this rough period of time into something more." ADOR said "we deeply regret that the members have unilaterally made this choice," Rolling Stone UK reported. The NJZ debut was booked for ComplexCon Hong Kong. On March 21, two days before the show, the Seoul Central District Court granted ADOR's injunction. They performed anyway on March 23, debuted a new song, "Pit Stop," and told the crowd that "out of respect for the court's decision, we've decided to pause all our activities for now," Soompi reported.

Then the courts kept going: the penalty in May, the rejected appeal in June. NJZ hasn't been used officially since. The July 2026 anniversary videos went out on NewJeans' YouTube channel, under NewJeans. The name survives mostly as a search term, which is why our group page still carries it in brackets.

Where each member stands

"Returned" means ADOR announced that the member will continue under her contract, which the court says runs to 2029. The last activity is the latest public work we could source as of October 3, 2026.

Member	Contract with ADOR	Latest public activity	Source
Minji	In talks; ADOR called them positive in May and July 2026	Anniversary videos, July 22, 2026	Star News (Korean)
Hanni	Returned, confirmed Dec 29, 2025	Anniversary videos, July 2026, after pre-production in Copenhagen in April	Korea Herald
Haerin	Returned, announced Nov 12, 2025	Marie Claire Korea September cover with Dior Beauty, revealed Aug 14, 2026	Tenasia (Korean)
Hyein	Returned, announced Nov 12, 2025	Harper's Bazaar Korea September cover with Bottega Veneta, reported Aug 24, 2026	Topstar News (Korean)
Danielle	Ended by ADOR Dec 29, 2025; defendant in ADOR's damages suit	First YouTube video, "Detour," Sept 3, 2026	Korea Times

Hanni was in Copenhagen for what ADOR called "a pre-production process to build NewJeans' new musical narrative," the Korea Herald reported; Minji wasn't on that trip. Danielle has been posting on her own: a song demo in April and, on September 3, a first YouTube video that drew 1.8 million views in a day, per the Korea Times.

ADOR v. Danielle: what each side says

ADOR's December 29, 2025 statement: "We have determined that it is no longer possible for Danielle to remain a member of NewJeans or an artist under Ador." It blamed a member of Danielle's family and Min Hee-jin for the dispute and for the delay in the group's return, and sued all three in Seoul Central District Court, first for about 43.1 billion won and, from June 2026, about 33.1 billion. Asked why Danielle alone, ADOR said she had seriously violated her contract: a project with the US band Emotional Oranges worth about $175,000, plus photo shoots, magazine covers and an individual deal with a major watch brand, all without consulting the label, the Korea Times reported. At the July 23 hearing, according to Topstar News, ADOR also argued that NewJeans' contract with the ComplexCon organizer was a double contract.

Danielle's lawyers dispute each point. They say no separate payment was made for Emotional Oranges, that the NJZ activities, the ComplexCon deal included, involved all the members, and that ADOR is targeting Danielle alone. When the trial opened they said that "Danielle is an idol, and this is the most brilliant period of her career," and accused ADOR of dragging the case out. On September 10 they questioned whether ADOR ever had the will and the ability to get NewJeans back to normal, and asked for its activity plans. ADOR answered that the lawsuit "may have delayed the resumption of activities," but "it does not mean there was no activity plan in the first place," per Star News. Danielle herself said on her January livestream that she "fought until the very end to be together with the members."

The current fight is over the damages math: ADOR wants an appraiser to estimate what NewJeans would have earned had it kept working normally, and the sides disagree over which documents Danielle's team may see. The next hearing is October 22, 2026. There is no ruling, and this page doesn't guess at one.

Mina's Take

The NJZ weekend is the part I keep coming back to. Two days after a court told them to stop, five people walked onstage in Hong Kong, sang a song nobody had heard and told the crowd they were pausing. That was the group's clearest moment as a unit, and almost everything since has been paperwork. What's real now is small: two magazine covers, a set of anniversary videos, a trip to Copenhagen. None of that is a comeback, and I'd stop reading overseas sightings as one. The question that decides what NewJeans is next isn't the Danielle case. It's Minji. A four-member NewJeans and a three-member NewJeans are different groups, and ADOR hasn't said which one it's building. Until it does, any release date you see is a rumor.

NewJeans FAQ

Is NewJeans called NJZ now?

No. The members announced NJZ on February 7, 2025, but a March 2025 injunction barred them from working independently. ADOR's 2026 content for the group runs under NewJeans.

Did NewJeans disband?

No disbandment has been announced. ADOR released four-member anniversary videos on July 22, 2026 and says activity plans will follow once talks with the members finish.

Why did Danielle leave NewJeans?

ADOR ended her contract on December 29, 2025 and sued her for damages. Danielle says she fought until the very end to stay, and her lawyers dispute ADOR's claims.

Is NewJeans still with ADOR?

Yes. A Seoul court ruled on October 30, 2025 that the contracts run until 2029. Haerin, Hyein and Hanni have returned; ADOR says talks with Minji continue.

How many members are in NewJeans now?

Four appear in the group's 2026 content: Minji, Hanni, Haerin and Hyein. Minji's return had not been finalized as of early October 2026, and Danielle is no longer a member.

When is NewJeans' comeback?

No date has been announced. ADOR says plans will follow once talks with the members are fully finished, and NewJeans isn't on our October 2026 comebacks calendar.