NJZ (NewJeans) Liken Themselves To “School Violence Victims,” Netizens Outraged By Their Shocking New Petition

Tensions between NJZ (NewJeans) and their agency ADOR continue to escalate following a dramatic court hearing on July 24.

During the latest open court hearing at the Seoul Central District Court, legal representatives for the members shared new claims and even a new petition written by the members which has sparked strong backlash online.

The NJZ members are currently seeking to nullify their exclusive contracts with ADOR, and during the hearing, their lawyer stated that they cannot return to ADOR in its current state. The group’s legal team even claimed the members have to take antidepressants even after just passing by the ADOR building.

The members want to continue their careers in the entertainment industry, but they do not want to do so under ADOR. Even just going near the ADOR building makes their hearts race and forces them to take antidepressants.

— NJZ’s legal team

As part of the proceedings, a handwritten petition by the members was also revealed, drawing particular attention to one controversial comparison. In it, the NJZ members plead with the court, likening themselves to school violence victims.

Telling us to go back to ADOR is like telling a school bullying victim to return to the place where their bully is.

The staff who worked with us have already left, and ADOR is no longer genuinely listening to what we have to say. How loudly do we have to scream before someone realizes how much we’re hurting?

— NJZ’s legal team

However, many netizens were less than sympathetic to the claims, particularly criticizing the school bullying analogy as inappropriate. Some even branded the five members as “hypocrites.”

• “If they don’t want to stay, they can just pay the penalty and leave, right?”
• “This is seriously hopeless.”
• “The ones who should be on antidepressants are probably the other group who got criticized over kalguksu and were judged for being cold in their greetings.”
• “Wow, the hypocrisy is disgusting. If they had only blamed Bang Si Hyuk, maybe I’d understand. But they personally mistreated other idols and young rookie managers, exposed their identities, and caused such chaos that public accounts had to turn off comments… and now they’re pretending to be the victims? Give me a break.”
• “Only the members know what really went on internally, but just seeing how they ignored and treated the younger idols like they were invisible speaks volumes. You can tell everything from that one action. Other big-label boy group fans know HYBE quietly replaced top execs with long-serving staff in November, probably because everyone worried the same thing would happen.”
• “This is honestly ridiculous.”