A new investigation into the contracts that bound five young women of NewJeans to their label suggests that, when they were still teenagers, they gave up protections most of us take for granted: rest, sleep, schooling and control over their own likenesses. The story unfolds against a K-pop industry whose ambition has long outpaced its care for the children who sustain it, and where a group's fame and a company's investment now weigh against the basic dignity of the people who create it. The label insists its agreements were lawful and fairly negotiated, while the members, who have already spok
NewJeans Contracts Waived Minors' Rights to 'Sleep, Rest and Free Choice', Report Finds
Minors reportedly signed contracts waiving sleep, rest and education protections, with rehearsals stretching to 2am and a 12-year-old member during early training.
Mark
Start with the headline detail. What does it mean to waive the right to sleep and rest?
Mimi
According to the Times report, the contracts signed by members aged 14 to 17 removed standard child-protection language, including protections of basic human rights and education. Sleep and rest are named in the waiver.
Luke
Worth keeping the sourcing straight. This is the Guardian relaying the Times, and we haven't seen the contracts ourselves. The Guardian says it has asked Hybe for comment.
Mark
And Hybe's position?
Mimi
That it follows child-protection laws, that the contracts were legal and negotiated in good faith, and that its exit penalties are within industry standards.
Luke
Legal and fair are different claims, though. The report says the contracts dropped parts of a government template. Whether that template is mandatory, the coverage doesn't say.
Mark
What about the 2am rehearsals?
Mimi
One source told the Times that was not unusual. Hyein was 12 when that training period was happening.
Luke
One source, and it describes training before the contracts. It doesn't establish what happened after signing.
Mark
The likeness clause seems the most forward-looking part.
Mimi
Yes. Rights in perpetuity, beyond what government recommendations suggest, and the right to use members as AI chatbots or clones.
Luke
Rights granted is not rights exercised. Nothing here says Ador has made any AI version of them.
Mark
Where does the lawsuit fit?
Mimi
Ador sued Danielle, a family member and the producer for nearly $30m. It insists broken trust is not valid grounds for termination.
Luke
And what a court decides remains unknown. So does the comeback date.
El Pulso
- Contracts signed at ages 14 to 17 reportedly stripped away sleep, rest and education protections, and gave the label perpetual rights to the members' likenesses, voices and even AI clones.
- Rehearsals running until 2am and a 12-year-old member in early training have turned a commercial success story into a public reckoning over child welfare.
- Hybe maintains the contracts are legal and negotiated in good faith, while Ador is suing member Danielle, her family and their producer for nearly $30m.
- Lawmakers and fans are now pressing for closer scrutiny of K-pop child-protection rules, even as the group's promised 2026 comeback remains unseen.
- The dispute is heading toward a legal and public standoff, with no new music yet to signal whether the members and label can find common ground.
A new investigation into the contracts that bound five young women of NewJeans to their label suggests that, when they were still teenagers, they gave up protections most of us take for granted: rest, sleep, schooling and control over their own likenesses. The story unfolds against a K-pop industry whose ambition has long outpaced its care for the children who sustain it, and where a group's fame and a company's investment now weigh against the basic dignity of the people who create it. The label insists its agreements were lawful and fairly negotiated, while the members, who have already spoken of mistreatment, find themselves caught in a dispute that has yet to show how childhood and commerce might be fairly reconciled.
A New York Times report, summarised by The Guardian, has reopened a painful chapter in the story of NewJeans. The five members, Minji, Hanni, Haerin, Hyein and Danielle, were between 14 and 17 when they signed their contracts with Ador, a Hybe subsidiary. According to the report, those agreements waived their right to sleep, rest and free choice, dropped the education protections in standard child-safeguarding language, and left out parts of the Korean government's model contract that would have limited sexualised exposure and excessive working hours.
The terms reach further than schedules. Ador was granted rights to the members' names, photographs, voices and likenesses in perpetuity, including the possibility of AI chatbots or clones, and the contracts reportedly required the group to repay plastic surgery costs. Former trainees described rehearsals running until 2am, and the youngest member was only 12 during early training. When one family pressed for changes, they were told the contract could be reconsidered if it was not signed as written.
Hybe responds that it follows child-protection laws, that its contracts were lawful and negotiated fairly, and that it does not push cosmetic surgery on artists against their wishes. The company has also defended its exit penalties as within industry norms. Ador, for its part, insists that a unilateral claim of broken trust is not grounds for ending a contract, and in December 2025 it sued Danielle, her family and the producer for nearly $30m.
The group's commercial triumphs are not in question, and neither are the stakes for its future. In July, NewJeans promised a summer of music in 2026, but no new work has yet appeared. Whether this report leads to tighter rules for young K-pop trainees, and whether the legal fight and the promised comeback can find a path forward, remains to be seen. The Guardian has asked Hybe for comment.
According to a new report from the New York Times, the contracts that bound the members of NewJeans to their record label waived their right to "sleep, rest and free choice." The five members of the record-breaking K-pop group were between 14 and 17 when they signed. The Guardian summarised the Times findings on 5 November 2026.
The contracts were with Ador, a subsidiary of Hybe, the company behind BTS and Katseye. They barred the performers from having an "insincere attitude" and from engaging in "inappropriate romantic relationships." They also removed standard child-protection language that safeguarded "basic human rights," including the right to education.
The documents also left out parts of the Korean government's template contract for K-pop. One omitted passage said a label "shall not demand that a performer who is a minor engage in excessive physical exposure or overly sexually suggestive expression." Another struck language forbidding work for "excessive periods of time." The contract further required the group to repay a significant percentage of the plastic surgery costs that are common in K-pop.
The likeness provisions go further still. Ador received rights to the members' "name, photographs, likeness, handwriting, voice and any other elements" in perpetuity. Government recommendations call for such rights to end when a contract ends. The clause also lets Ador use the members as AI chatbots or clones.
By the time they signed, Minji, Hanni, Haerin, Hyein and Danielle had already spent years in K-pop "boot camps," covering vocal training, choreography and foreign languages. One source told the Times that schedules were strict and rehearsals running as late as 2am were not unusual. Hyein, the youngest member, was 12 at the time. After the members received their exclusive contracts in January 2022, the parents of one member asked for multiple changes. They were told that if they did not sign the contract as written, "the contract itself" could be reconsidered.
Hybe's response to the Times was that the company follows child-protection laws and works to keep its artists' working and training conditions safe. It said its contracts were legal and negotiated in good faith, with protections for the artist as well as for the label's investment. On surgery, it said: "We do not even recommend cosmetic surgery or procedures against an individual's wishes." It also said its exit penalty fees do not exceed industry standards.
The group's commercial standing is not in doubt. In 2023, NewJeans followed Blackpink as the second Korean girl group to land a number one album on the Billboard charts. In November 2024 the members made global headlines by announcing they would leave the label amid contract disputes and claims that Ador had deliberately undermined their careers. Hanni told South Korea's parliament last year that the group had been mistreated and accused Ador of "deliberate miscommunications and manipulation."
Ador has maintained that it did not breach its duty. "A unilateral claim that trust has been broken does not constitute valid grounds for termination of a contract," the label said. In December 2025 it sued Danielle, a member of her family and the band's producer for nearly $30m in damages and a contract break penalty.
In July, the group promised that 2026 would be the "summer of NewJeans," with a teaser showing four members, without Danielle. No new music has appeared. What to watch is whether the report brings fresh scrutiny of child-protection rules in K-pop, and whether the legal dispute and the promised comeback move toward resolution. The Guardian has asked Hybe for comment.
Citas Notables
We do not even recommend cosmetic surgery or procedures against an individual's wishes.— Hybe statement
A unilateral claim that trust has been broken does not constitute valid grounds for termination of a contract.— Ador statement
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