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Last year, NewJeans<\/a> staged a revolt over strict contracts that challenged the foundations of the K-pop industry. Their case, against the HYBE label ADOR, hinged on the claim they had suffered \u201csignificant negligence\u201d at the hands of their employers. ADOR beat them in court and proceeded to fire Danielle Marsh from the band; her lawyer said the label was punishing her for the attempted mutiny. Now, ADOR is pursuing millions in damages from Marsh for breach of contract. But questions remain over the severity of the conditions to which ADOR subjected NewJeans\u2014a battery of brutal training regimes and unusually strict personal terms that are laid out in a new report from The New York Times<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n The harsh reality of K-pop contracts is no secret. So notoriously gruelling are the demands on trainee idols that the Korean government has a contract template to forestall the most inhumane conditions. But labels are free to stray from its recommendations, and ADOR made several key changes, multiple experts told The Times<\/em>. Standard language from the template\u2014guaranteeing rights to education, physical and mental health, and other protections against child labor\u2014was omitted from NewJeans\u2019 contract, signed when the members were aged 14 to 17. Their parents accepted the terms. But when the mother of one member requested changes, ADOR\u2019s vice president responded, in an email obtained by The Times<\/em>, \u201cIf you do not agree to the current contract draft, including the points above, it may be best to reconsider the contract itself.\u201d<\/p>\n In the lead-up to the band\u2019s debut in 2022, ADOR drilled the young NewJeans members with little respite, the report suggests. Four of the five members dropped out of school. They often rehearsed late into the night, sometimes until 2 a.m., and breaks were discouraged, sources told The Times<\/em>. (HYBE said it fully complies with child-protection laws, works hard to ensure performers\u2019 safety, and does not pressure them to quit school or penalize them for resting.) The contracts gave the label the right to use A.I.-generated NewJeans voices indefinitely, whereas the government contract template returns rights to a performer for their name, image, and voice once the contract ends.<\/p>\n Other unusual restrictions in the contracts included bans on \u201cinsincere attitude,\u201d \u201cinappropriate romantic relationships,\u201d and publicly stating \u201ctrue or false facts\u201d that could damage the label. Band member Hanni Pham nonetheless denounced ADOR for its treatment of her and her bandmates in a 2024 testimony to the Korean Parliament. Soon after, the band rebranded as NJZ and performed at ComplexCon in Hong Kong, in defiance of an injunction that a Seoul court granted to ADOR. But the rebellion was swiftly shut down as NewJeans\u2014or NJZ\u2014announced a hiatus in respect of the court order.<\/p>\n The strict contract terms meant insubordinate members could face massive lawsuits and fees. In terminating Marsh\u2019s contract and suing her, ADOR alleged that her refusal to work\u2014as well as unauthorized solo projects and photo shoots\u2014broke the contract terms and cost the label some $22 million. The other NewJeans members remain under contract until 2029. Their latest activity is a video that ADOR posted last August, promising a \u201csummer of NewJeans\u201d that did not come to pass.<\/p>\n