Ask what Korea is talking about.

NewJeans' exclusive contracts became a public controversy after The New York Times reported on November 5 that the members signed contracts at ages 14–17 that allegedly lacked basic rights and deviated from the standard contract set by the Korean government. HYBE and ADOR issued statements on November 6, saying the contract and litigation materials were leaked to foreign media and used to attack K-pop, and that former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin was the contracting party at the time. Min Hee-jin responded with a scathing statement mocking HYBE's explanation, according to Koreaboo. Separately, on November 13, a Seoul Western District Court ruled against BELIFT Lab, a HYBE subsidiary, in its damages lawsuit against Min Hee-jin over her claim that ILLIT copied NewJeans, as reported by Yonhap and Kyunghyang. Korean reactions have been largely critical, with Koreaboo reporting "massive backlash" over the contract details, while Hankyoreh noted the report reveals the "troubling reality" of the K-pop industry.