Recently, NJZ, a former member of the popular girl group NewJeans, shared insights into her family’s impact during the ongoing legal battle with ADOR. On March 21, a court ruling favored ADOR in their injunction against NJZ, leading to the group’s decision on March 24 to contest the court’s ruling, which restricted their ability to engage in independent schedules.
In a notable interview conducted by BBC Korea on March 26, 2025, all five NJZ members—Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein—opened up about their experiences. Hanni, a member of Vietnamese Australian descent, expressed the emotional toll of being separated from her family, who are currently in Australia. She stated:
“I’m not Korean; I don’t have any family here either, and so do my parents and my whole family, so everyone is very much concerned.”
During the interview, Hanni appeared visibly moved as she recounted a poignant conversation with her mother. She reflected:
“I remember my mom calling me one time; she just felt really sad that we have to go through this. When I heard that, I felt really sad because I think it’s the same for all of us, so if we knew we were going to go through this, maybe we could have… I don’t know, leaving doesn’t work that way. But I just feel really sorry for my parents that they have to see me go through this while living in a different country. But it’s okay; we are going to get through it. I’m just trusting time.”
Response to Allegations of External Influence Over NJZ’s Decisions
On the same date, March 24, 2025, Hanni addressed allegations claiming that influential figures were dominating decision-making for the group. In her remarks, she noted that the public often assumes someone in authority is directing the young members’ actions due to their age.
“Because we’re really young, in a way that’s an easy way to kind of devalue the fact that we are actually trying to do something about this issue. It’s just easy to kind of be like, ‘They’re young… what do you think? They’re not doing that by themselves,’ but that doesn’t mean that we’re any less serious or any less concerned about this situation; that’s not the scenario at all,”she clarified.
Hanni emphasized that all five members of NJZ actively participate in decision-making as a collective. She stated:
“We’ve always said to each other if one person doesn’t want to do it, then we’re not going to do it. It has to be all 5 of us that agree to do it.”
In subsequent developments, ADOR had previously permitted the group to perform at the ComplexCon festival in Hong Kong, providing backstage support, although under their original group name, NewJeans. On March 23, 2025, they debuted an unreleased track titled “Pit Stop”during this performance, and reportedly announced a hiatus without prior notification to ADOR.
Following these events, on March 24, 2025, NJZ formally appealed the court’s decision favoring ADOR, which restricts their ability to engage in independent endeavors without notifying their agency. A hearing on this matter is anticipated, although a specific date has yet to be announced.
Moreover, in December 2025, ADOR initiated legal proceedings to validate their exclusive contract with NewJeans, with the first hearing scheduled for April 3, 2025.