NewJeans’ record label contract reportedly lacked protections for minors

A report by The New York Times alleges that contracts NewJeans members signed with ADOR lacked several protections for minors. The claims matter because the members were aged 14 to 17 when they signed, and the contracts governed their work and rights as young performers.

The report says the contracts omitted government-template guarantees covering minors’ health, education, rest and free choice, as well as a clause against excessive physical exposure or sexually suggestive expression. HYBE says its contracts are legal and designed to protect artists’ safety and wellbeing. The members are contracted to ADOR until 2029, and the report says the label may then continue licensing their identities, including their faces and voices.