NewJeans(NJZ) manager imprisonment allegations, Ministry of Labor concludes

The Ministry of Labor and Employment (MOLE) has concluded that the allegations of unlawful confinement and workplace harassment filed by a manager at NewJeans against ADOR CEO Joo-Young Kim were not proven.

As reported by Chosunbiz on the 24th, the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Office investigated A's complaint and found no evidence of workplace harassment and closed the case administratively. It was judged that it was difficult to prove the claim based on the submitted materials alone.

A had been in charge of advertiser contacts since November 2024, when NewJeans issued its own termination notice, excluding ADOR. He filed a complaint against Kim with the Ministry of Employment and Labor in December, alleging harassment, including that ADOR lured him away, detained him for about three hours and demanded he hand over his phone.

NewJeans members have also alleged in their statements that they were subjected to severe harassment, including having their laptops taken away from them by ADOR and Hive and being subjected to unannounced investigations.

In response, ADOR countered that the manager was acting as an intermediary between artists and advertisers, which is an act of admiralty in aid of breach of exclusivity agreements. It also emphasized that there was no unlawful detention or coercion in demanding the return of the laptop.

In other news, a workplace harassment complaint filed by NewJeans member Hani through the National Newspaper Report was also closed. The authorities concluded that Hani was not a worker under the Labor Standards Act and that the management relationship was merely the fulfillment of obligations between equal contracting parties.