Ex-NewJeans member Danielle denies signing second contract with another agency

Former NewJeans member Danielle's legal team denied allegations that the singer signed a contract with another agency, which surfaced after a recent lawsuit hearing.

"Following Danielle's hearing on [Thursday], some media outlets published distorted reports suggesting that Danielle had signed a contract with another company or concealed such an arrangement, citing alleged Chinese agencies," law firm Yoon & Yang said in a statement posted Monday on the X account of Team Bunnies, a NewJeans fan support group.

The law firm clarified that the issue concerns a legitimate process in which a third party submitted a proposal to purchase the stake in ADOR held by its parent company, HYBE, in 2025.

"NewJeans members, including Danielle, have neither signed nor attempted to sign overlapping exclusive management contracts with any particular company," the statement read.

ADOR's legal team also alleged that Danielle signed a contract with a Chinese agency during the hearing on Thursday. However, the singer's side said such a claim "contains inaccuracies or distorts or exaggerates the facts."

"We suspect that ADOR may have been involved in the way the facts of this case were distorted and disseminated, particularly in reports portraying an issue concerning all of the NewJeans members as though it were the result of Danielle acting alone," the statement further read.

The law firm plans to ask the court to take appropriate measures in response to ADOR's attempts to influence the proceedings and added that it expects the court to ultimately reach a decision based on factual evidence.

ADOR filed a combined 33.1 billion won ($21.7 million) damages lawsuit against Danielle, a member of her family and former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin, seeking to hold them legally responsible for NewJeans' departure from the agency and the delay in the group's return. The agency initially filed for damages worth 43.1 billion won, but lowered its claim by 10 billion won in June.

BY LEE TAE-HEE [[email protected]]