K-pop girl group NewJeans' Hanni says she will testify before the South Korean National Assembly as part of a workplace harassment inquiry slated for Oct 25. - NEWJEANS/X
SEOUL: K-pop idol Hanni of girl group NewJeans is taking a stand. She has announced her intention to testify before the South Korean National Assembly’s Environment and Labour Committee as part of a workplace harassment inquiry slated for Oct 25.
The 20-year-old Vietnamese-Australian star posted the news on Phoning, an online platform NewJeans use to communicate with their fans, on Oct 9.
According to news outlet Korea JoongAng Daily, Hanni said: “I’ve decided, I’m going to the National Assembly for the hearing. I’ll go alone.”
She added: “Don’t worry. I’m doing this for myself, my members and for Bunnies (the name given to NewJeans’ fans)... I’m not afraid. I want to go.”
The chairman of the Environment and Labour Committee had previously asked Hanni to appear as a reference witness for the inquiry, which is meant to address workplace harassment and bullying in the entertainment industry. She is not obligated to accept the request.
She said she came to the decision after carefully considering it, and while she is unsure of the outcome, she believes it will be a valuable learning opportunity.
The chief executive of NewJeans’ label Ador, Kim Ju-young, has also been requested to testify before the committee, but has yet to confirm her attendance.
Hanni’s announcement comes after a live stream NewJeans held on Sept 11 without the knowledge of their management. They called on K-pop entertainment conglomerate Hybe to reinstate music producer Min Hee-jin as the chief executive of Ador, which is a subsidiary of Hybe.
Min, who helmed the debut of NewJeans, was dismissed from Ador on Aug 27.
During the 30-minute live stream, Hanni alleged that she had been ostracised by the staff of Hybe. When she encountered another K-pop group under Hybe in a shared company building, she greeted them, but overheard the group’s manager telling them to ignore her.
“To say that in front of me, knowing full well that I can hear it – why do I have to go through something like that? I don’t understand. I’m speechless,” she said then.
While she did not reveal the group’s name in the live stream, subsequent news reports suggested that it was the rookie girl group Illit, under the Hybe subsidiary Belift Lab.
NewJeans’ members and their parents asked for closed-circuit television footage of the incident. But Hybe, which denied Hanni’s allegations, claimed the footage had been deleted.
Min has been embroiled in an ugly dispute with Hybe since April, after Hybe alleged that she orchestrated a plan to break away from the parent company. She denied the charges and claims her rift with Hybe started when she accused Belift Lab of copying NewJeans with Illit, which debuted in 2024.
According to The Korea Times, Belift Lab put out a statement on Oct 7 to denounce Hanni’s claims as “baseless accusations”. It also criticised the decision to call Hanni to testify before the inquiry.
“Despite providing all necessary explanations, new and unverifiable claims are being made. This raises concerns that an event that never occurred is being dragged into a parliamentary audit due to ulterior motives,” the agency said. - The Straits Times/ANN
