It was supposed to be a “re-debut” show. The popular K-pop group known as NewJeans had planned a comeback under the new name “NJZ” to mark a new direction following months of contract dispute with their management company ADOR, a subsidiary of industry juggernaut HYBE.
But the sold-out headliner performance at ComplexCon in Hong Kong on Sunday instead ended with a goodbye—at least for now.
In an on-stage announcement, the band’s members told the crowd of over 11,000 that they had “decided to pause all our activities.” The hiatus comes just days after a Seoul court sided with ADOR, granting an injunction to bar the group from activities, including new releases and international performances, independent of the label.
“It is really hard for us to say this, but this might be our last performance for a little while,” said band member Hanni, reading aloud a message that she and bandmates Danielle, Hyein, Haerin, and Minji are going on hiatus “out of respect” for the court ruling issued on March 21. “It’s just us taking a step back to pause, take a breath and gather our hearts and ourselves before moving forward,” Hanni read, though it remains unclear what lies ahead for the embattled music group.
The five members left their label abruptly in November last year, amid allegations of workplace harassment and discrimination. Last month, they announced they’d taken on the new name—NJZ—but the injunction filed by ADOR and granted by the Seoul Central District Court appears to have put plans for their new direction on ice.
Their label, however, did not agree to the hiatus—saying in a statement shared with TIME on Monday that it “regret[s] the members’ decision to proceed with a performance under a name other than NewJeans, despite the court order, and their unilateral announcement of a suspension of activities.” The label added it was “fully committed” to supporting the group and that it hopes “to meet with the artists as soon as possible to discuss the path forward.”
“As we have stated before, regardless of any financial matters, we can no longer remain with a management that has disrespected our identities and undermined our achievements,” the group said in a statement posted on social media after the injunction was granted. The group currently faces a legal battle with ADOR over the legitimacy of their unilateral contract termination. The first hearing is set for April 3.
Read More: Why K-Pop Group NewJeans—or NJZ—Is Brazenly Taking On an Industry Giant
A representative for the group told TIME last week that the group planned to use the name NJZ at ComplexCon, while ADOR said in a statement before the concert that it approved of the performance only under the name NewJeans.
Signage at ComplexCon that displayed other bands’ names displayed no name during the group’s performance, according to CNN, while the group didn’t perform any of their NewJeans back catalog during the show, instead performing a series of covers as well as their new unreleased single “Pit Stop” that was supposed to be their NJZ debut. Some of the members also wore outfits bearing NJZ branding, and NJZ-branded merchandise was available for sale, according to CNN.
“No matter what our name is, no matter what kind of tough time we’ve been through, I feel like to be able to share a moment like this with everyone, is what we live for,” Danielle told the crowd, according to CNN.
After their performance, the five girls stood together on stage, visibly nervous, to share their message about taking a break in both Korean and English. “It wasn’t an easy decision,” read Hanni, “but we believe this is something we need to do at this moment.”
Danielle added that the group had “so many fun plans” for their fans—whom they call “Bunnies”—but that their legal challenges had affected those plans. “It feels too hard to keep going at this pace, and as strong as we are trying to stay, it has honestly taken a bit of mental and emotional toll on us.”
“Honestly, we’ve known from the start that this journey wasn’t going to be easy, and even though we accept the court’s ruling and this whole process, we had to speak up to protect the values that we believe in, and that was a choice that we don’t regret at all,” Danielle added. “We surely believe that standing up for our dignity, our rights and everything we just deeply care about is something we had to do, and that belief will not change.”
She made clear, however, that the group has no plans to give up. “We will keep pushing forward no matter what. … We promise, no matter what the circumstances, we will meet again soon.”
