[Full Text] Korea Popular Music Industry Association Expresses Deep Regret Over New York Times Report on 'NewJeans Contract'

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

The Incorporated Association of the Korean Popular Music Industry (President Woo Seong-hyun) expressed concern over The New York Times’ report citing NewJeans’ exclusive contract.

On the 9th, the Korea Popular Music Industry Association stated, "We express deep concern regarding recent reports by The New York Times that cited the exclusive contracts of specific K-pop artists," adding, "The report is a one-sided and biased assessment that not only failed to fully consider the legality and legitimacy of contracts conducted under Korean law and institutional regulations, but also failed to adequately consider the characteristics and value of the unique incubation system that has contributed to K-pop’s growth as a global industry."

It further stated, "We express regret that The New York Times expanded and interpreted controversies surrounding specific individual contracts into structural issues across the entire K-pop industry without sufficiently highlighting institutional development and the industry’s self-purification efforts," emphasizing, "The fairness and legality of exclusive contracts must be judged by comprehensively considering not only individual clauses but also supplementary agreements, relevant laws and regulations, the circumstances of contract formation, and actual performance. Otherwise, there is a risk of spreading distorted perceptions of the K-pop industry and unfairly damaging the achievements and trust accumulated over a long period."

The Korea Popular Music Industry Association stated, "K-pop companies have already been legally implementing various measures for trainees and active artists who are minors. Major companies, including HYBE, sign both trainee agreements and national standard minor supplementary agreements, which include protective clauses for rights to personality, sleep, education, and rest. Additionally, major companies affiliated with the association have designated youth protection officers in accordance with relevant laws and regulations and have been managing related matters," emphasizing, "The K-pop incubation system is a talent development framework with unique characteristics and competitiveness that cannot be judged solely by Western perspectives. It operates multi-faceted care programs to the extent of employing specialized medical staff within companies, meticulously protecting artists’ rights to health and personality. This dedicated management and pre-investment system is a uniquely Korean industrial ecosystem that should not be downgraded as 'oppressive control.'"

Along with this, the Korea Popular Music Industry Association stated, "We will do our best to protect artists’ rights and interests and establish a healthy contract order so that the K-pop ecosystem can continue as a robust 'system' that is not shaken by external distorted views or the misconduct of specific individuals," adding, "We will resolutely respond to prevent distorted public opinion campaigns and inappropriate actions pursuing private gain from taking root, which damage the trust and standing of the entire industry."

In a report on the 5th (local time), The New York Times analyzed the contract signed by NewJeans members with Ador in 2022, pointing out that "protective clauses regarding health, learning, sleep, and rest from the government standard contract were omitted, and members were required to repay a significant portion of costs incurred by the company for plastic surgery, skin care, etc." It also criticized aspects related to private life, such as inappropriate romantic relationships, and rights to use faces and voices after contract termination.

The New York Times stated, "NewJeans’ contract lacks clauses from the standard contract that guarantee minors’ physical and mental health, right to education, and rights to sleep and rest," pointing out, "The contract in question also includes numerous clauses infringing on members’ rights, such as methods for calculating penalty damages and portrait rights clauses after contract termination."

It further claimed, "In particular, a clause was found requiring members to bear a significant portion of the costs incurred for plastic surgery, skin care, and body correction during their trainee period. At this time, two group officials stated that the agency recommended cosmetic procedures to some members before their debut." It also criticized the issue of calculating penalty damages imposed in case of contract violation. Unlike the standard contract, it pointed out that penalty damages could increase by reflecting only months with actual sales revenue in the calculation of average monthly sales.

Subsequently, HYBE stated in a lengthy statement on the 6th, "Min Hee-jin, who was Ador’s CEO at the time, and the vice-president she appointed, along with members, their parents, and legal representatives for some members, adjusted the wording and finally signed the contract. It went through three months of Q&A, email communication, and lawyer review, and it was recognized in a court decision that it was concluded after sufficient discussion," claiming, "The legal team provides basic templates, and the label communicates with artists to determine major conditions such as settlement methods. Afterwards, we requested The New York Times to explicitly state that Min Hee-jin was the principal of the contract, but this was not reflected."

On the other hand, Min Hee-jin’s side rebutted, "Participating in contract negotiations and signing is different from having the authority to decide major clauses," stating, "HYBE’s legal team led the drafting and revision on behalf of Ador, which does not have an independent legal team, and required the agreement of HYBE’s legal team, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Executive Officer, as well as board approval." It further rebutted, "In 2024, we requested authority to conclude important contracts, but HYBE refused, and consultations with parents were limited revisions mainly to clarify wording. It is more important who actually created and could modify the major clauses of the contract than who signed it."

◆ Full Text of Official Statement by Korea Popular Music Industry Association

The Incorporated Association of the Korean Popular Music Industry (President Woo Seong-hyun) expresses deep concern regarding recent reports by The New York Times (NYT) that cited the exclusive contracts of specific K-pop artists. We judge this report to be a one-sided and biased assessment that not only failed to fully consider the legality and legitimacy of contracts conducted under Korean law and institutional regulations, but also failed to adequately consider the characteristics and value of the unique incubation system that has contributed to K-pop’s growth as a global industry.

The K-pop industry, praised by the world today, is a partnership achieved together by agencies and artists. What institutionally supports this is precisely the 'Standard Contract for Popular Culture and Arts' and the 'Popular Culture and Arts Industry Development Act' enacted by the Korean government. These two systems are balanced principles that protect agencies taking on loss risks and investing large sums of money while simultaneously safeguarding and guaranteeing the rights and interests of artists, who may be relatively vulnerable. Currently, all domestic entertainment companies and artists respect the spirit of this standard contract and work together under the regulations of the Popular Culture and Arts Industry Development Act to draft, perform, and grow through contracts. The renewals of numerous artists whose contract periods have expired prove this. Thus, protecting artists’ rights and interests is an important task that K-pop companies and the Korean government have continuously shown interest in and made efforts toward, promoting institutional and substantive improvements.

Nevertheless, we express regret that The New York Times expanded and interpreted controversies surrounding specific individual contracts into structural issues across the entire K-pop industry without sufficiently highlighting such institutional development and the industry’s self-purification efforts. The fairness and legality of exclusive contracts must be judged by comprehensively considering not only individual clauses but also supplementary agreements, relevant laws and regulations, the circumstances of contract formation, and actual performance. Otherwise, there is a risk of spreading distorted perceptions of the K-pop industry and unfairly damaging the achievements and trust accumulated over a long period.

Protecting artists’ rights and interests and respecting the legitimate rights of production companies are not opposing values. The rights and interests of minor artists must be guaranteed. At the same time, the legitimate investments and contractual rights of production companies should also be protected. The K-pop industry has grown based on long-term corporate investment and artists’ creative activities. Legally concluded contracts and judicial judgments should be respected.

K-pop companies have already been legally implementing various measures for trainees and active artists who are minors. Major K-pop companies, including HYBE, sign both trainee agreements and national standard minor supplementary agreements, which include protective clauses for rights to personality, sleep, education, and rest. Additionally, major K-pop companies affiliated with the association have designated youth protection officers in accordance with relevant laws and regulations and have been managing related matters.

The K-pop incubation system is a talent development framework with unique characteristics and competitiveness that cannot be judged solely by Western perspectives. Major K-pop companies operate multi-faceted care programs to the extent of employing specialized medical staff within companies, meticulously protecting artists’ rights to health and personality. This dedicated management and pre-investment system is a uniquely Korean industrial ecosystem that should not be downgraded as 'oppressive control.' It is precisely within this ecosystem that famous boy groups and girl groups cheered by people around the world today have been born, and numerous trainees are sweating while dreaming of becoming tomorrow’s K-pop stars.

Finally, the Korea Popular Music Industry Association expresses deep concern about the situation where the exclusive contract for a case currently undergoing legal dispute is subject to confidentiality obligations between the parties, yet its content is disclosed through overseas media, and one-sided claims and public opinion campaigns are spreading based on this. We must be wary of unverified claims or one-sided perspectives being accepted as objective facts, or issues in individual disputes leading to negative evaluations of the entire K-pop industry.

The Korea Popular Music Industry Association will do its best to protect artists’ rights and interests and establish a healthy contract order so that the K-pop ecosystem can continue as a robust 'system' that is not shaken by external distorted views or the misconduct of specific individuals. At the same time, we will resolutely respond to prevent distorted public opinion campaigns and inappropriate actions pursuing private gain from taking root, which damage the trust and standing of the entire industry.

November 9, 2026

Incorporated Association of the Korean Popular Music Industry

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.View Original