Major K-pop industry organizations have called for stronger measures to protect exclusive contracts for K-pop agencies following growing concerns about the industry’s stability.
On Wednesday, five prominent organizations—including the Korea Management Federation, the Korea Entertainment Producer’s Association, the Record Label Industry Association of Korea, the Recording Industry Association of Korea, and the Korea Music Content Association—issued a joint statement urging action. They stated, “For the healthy and sustainable development of the K-pop industry, we ask certain agencies and artists to stop using public opinion campaigns to further their personal interests. We also strongly request the National Assembly and government support policies to end tampering, which has become a major source of conflict within the industry.”
The groups further explained their reasoning: “We want to emphasize the significant damage done to the K-pop industry when private disputes between parties are publicly exposed and manipulated, often by one side, creating unnecessary controversy. We aim to address and resolve the root causes of these conflicts.”
The organizations also referenced the National Assembly hearing in October 2024, where Hanni of NewJeans testified about the issues surrounding contract disputes. Following that hearing, a bill was introduced to prevent workplace harassment of K-pop artists. The groups stressed that to create more effective systems, the legal employment status of artists and the working conditions of other K-pop professionals should be carefully considered, with attention given to the diverse voices within the industry.
They warned, “If related bills continue to pass without considering the full scope of the industry, the K-pop sector will face frequent instability due to personal disputes that impact the larger framework.”
The organizations further pointed out, “Last year’s press conference regarding NewJeans’ contract termination exposed private disputes between artists and their agencies to the media in an excessive and unfiltered way. Additionally, there are cases where artists are attempting to pursue solo activities before any legal resolution is made regarding ongoing disputes.”
The organizations emphasized, “We can no longer ignore this situation,” adding, “Addressing the issue of tampering, which is often behind these unfiltered public opinion campaigns, should be a top priority.” They noted that tampering occurs in very covert ways, making it hard to prove, and without a legal framework to address such issues, holding the responsible parties accountable becomes nearly impossible.
They concluded, “The key to preventing tampering is the faithful execution of exclusive contracts. We urgently need institutional support to uncover and prevent tampering that undermines these contracts and to create a culture of respecting contractual integrity.”
Focusing on the NewJeans case, where members have engaged in independent activities despite not having legally terminated their contracts, they remarked, “The situation has escalated to the point where they recently announced a new stage name and publicly declared, ‘We have a new agent.’ If contracts aren’t legally protected and can be unilaterally broken, the very foundation of the K-pop industry will be at risk.”