When the American daily New York Times (NYT) reported that the contract between the members of the girl group New Jeans and their agency was unprecedentedly restrictive, Hive and Adore countered, saying, "New Jeans' exclusive contract includes provisions to protect basic human rights."
On the 5th (local time), NYT said that it had obtained a secret contract signed by a New Genes member when he was a teenage trainee, and pointed out that the contract was far from the standard contract created by the Korean government.
According to the NYT, this contract omitted clauses that stipulate that minor pop culture artists' rights to study, sleep, and rest must be guaranteed, and that youth performers must not provide services for excessive amounts of time.
New Genes members often practiced until 2 a.m., and the training space was recorded with a video camera, the NYT reported, citing a group official. Four out of five members dropped out of school.
According to the standard contract, the label's rights to the name, image, and voice of the pop culture artist should have expired when the contract ends, but this clause was not included in the New Genes contract.
For this reason, the NYT pointed out that the agency can continue to use New Genes' likeness and voice rights, and that it will even be possible to create voice replicas or chatbots with artificial intelligence (AI) that has learned this.
It was also revealed that numerous restrictions were added to the New Genes contract.
For example, it was specified that members should not engage in acts prohibited by law, as well as have a disloyal attitude, neglect self-management, engage in inappropriate relationships, make discriminatory remarks, or encourage division with the company. In particular, it also states that facts or false information that could damage the company's reputation should not be disclosed.
The NYT also took issue with the clause that required a large penalty to be paid even if the contract was terminated by the company's doctor, and the fact that procedures for cosmetic purposes were also recommended.
According to multiple officials, the members were photographed from various angles before their debut, and the agency Adore reportedly offered cosmetic procedures to several of the members.
The contract also states that the members must repay a significant portion of the money the agency spent on plastic surgery and other cosmetic procedures during their trainee period.
One of the parents of New Genes members requested changes to some provisions before signing the contract, but Vice President Adore said, "If you do not agree with the draft, it would be best to reexamine the contract itself," and effectively refused to negotiate.
Attorney Noh Jong-eon, who reviewed the contract, commented, "It restricts the artist's freedom to a level rarely seen in recent major label contracts."
In relation to this, Hive and Adore issued a statement on the 6th, saying, "The contract was concluded in April after the draft contract was shared on January 7, 2022," and refuted, "Long conversations took place over three months, including question-and-answer sessions, email communication, and discussion of revisions reviewed by the artist's attorney. The fact that the contract was concluded after sufficient discussion between both sides was also acknowledged through a court decision."
In addition, "Our company guarantees the right to sleep, right to education, right to rest, etc. through separate annexed agreements and human rights protection provisions for the protection of youth, and the cost sharing and penalty calculation methods have not been changed to be disadvantageous to artists," he said. "CCTV was installed only for the purpose of ensuring the safety of public spaces such as practice rooms, and individual consent of the artist is required when using voice and face in AI content."
At the same time, he emphasized, "During the contract signing process, Min Hee-jin, who was the CEO of Adore at the time, deputy CEO appointed by Min Hee-jin, members and parents, and legal representatives of some members coordinated the contract text and signed the final signature," and claimed, "We explained this to the NYT and asked them to specify in the article that Min Hee-jin was the contract subject, but it was not reflected."
Former CEO Min also issued a statement on the same day and refuted Hive's claim, saying, "The draft of the New Genes exclusive contract was written by Hive's legal team. The revision of the contract was also carried out through Hive's legal team." "Adore communicated with the artist based on the contract written by Hive, and took on the role of coordinating by relaying parents' questions and requests for modification to Hive's legal team."
Former CEO Min also criticized, "Designing a structure in which the CEO of a subsidiary cannot approve unless the CEO of Hive approves it, then created a target to shift responsibility and distributed a statement, which is spitting in one's own face."
