Hanni from girl group NewJeans and a representative from her agency have been requested to testify at the National Assembly for an upcoming Environment and Labor Committee audit on workplace bullying.
The committee held a general meeting on Sept. 20 and selected 35 individuals, including Hanni, as witnesses and references for an audit set for Oct. 25. The audit will focus on issues related to K-pop idol bullying and workplace harassment. Kim Ju-young, who serves as HYBE’s Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) and CEO of NewJeans’ agency ADOR, was also selected to testify on the same day. This decision comes in light of allegations that the agency failed to address incidents of bullying cases related to K-pop groups.
NewJeans members urged ADOR and its parent company, HYBE, to reinstate former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin as “the head of management and group production by Sept. 25,” during a YouTube livestream on Sept. 11. HYBE declined the group’s request.
During the livestream, Hanni mentioned an incident in which a manager of one of HYBE’s artists told the group to “ignore” her greetings. But her concerns were dismissed when she reported the incident to current ADOR CEO Kim.
The National Assembly is expected to question Hanni and CEO Kim about the bullying incident and similar cases in the industry.
Even if someone is selected as a witness or reference for a national audit, they are not obligated to testify if they submit a valid reason for their absence. However, if the committee finds the reasons invalid, witnesses must attend the audit or face prosecution if they refuse to comply. For such reasons, CEO Kim is highly likely to participate in the audit as a witness even if Hanni does not attend.
