Dating ban, agency's indefinite use of image rights ... 'NewJeans' secret contract revealed'

[Financial News] The New York Times (NYT) reported that the contract between girl group NewJeans' members and their agency was unprecedentedly restrictive.
NYT said on the 5th (local time) that it had obtained a secret contract signed by a NewJeans member when they were a teenage trainee, and noted that the agreement was far removed from the standard contract drawn up by the South Korean government.
The contract omitted provisions requiring that minors working in popular culture and the arts be guaranteed the rights to education, sleep and rest, among others. It also lacked a clause prohibiting underage performers from providing services for excessive hours.
It was not uncommon for NewJeans members to practice until 2 a.m. The training space was also filmed by video cameras, NYT reported, citing someone connected with the group. Four of the five members dropped out of school.
Under the standard contract, a label's rights to an artist's name, image and voice were supposed to expire when the contract ended, but no such provision appeared in NewJeans' contract.
As a result, the agency could continue to exercise its rights to use NewJeans' likeness and voice, and could even use AI trained on them to create voice clones or chatbots, NYT noted.
It also emerged that numerous additional restrictions were included in NewJeans' contract.
The contract stipulated, among other things, that members must not engage in acts prohibited by law, behave irresponsibly, neglect self-care, have inappropriate romantic relationships, make discriminatory remarks, or foment discord with the company. It also stated that they must not state facts or falsehoods that could damage the company's reputation.
NYT also took issue with a clause requiring members to pay a hefty penalty even if the company terminated the contract at its own discretion, as well as the fact that cosmetic procedures had been recommended.
According to multiple people familiar with the matter, members were photographed from various angles before their debut, and ADOR reportedly proposed cosmetic procedures to some of them.
The contract also required members to repay a substantial portion of the money the agency spent on plastic surgery and other cosmetic procedures during their trainee years.
One of the NewJeans members' parents said they had requested changes to some clauses before signing the contract, but an ADOR vice president had effectively refused to negotiate, saying, "If you don't agree to the draft, it would be best to reconsider the contract itself."

[email protected] Lee Seok-woo, international affairs correspondent Reporter