On the 18th, Minji and Hanni held a live broadcast through NewJeans’ official fan communication platform Phoning. During the broadcast, Minji said, “Because of my schedule, I could only see the part where Hanni first spoke (at the National Assembly),” and added, “After my schedule ended, I looked it up and saw that there were 100 photos of Hanni crying.” In response, Hanni laughed and said, “Who took those pictures (of me crying)? Let me have a word with them.“
Minji also commented on Hanni’s attendance at the national audit, saying, “In my heart, I was shouting, ‘That’s my girl.‘”
Another member, Danielle, shared her thoughts on the 17th, saying, “After the audit, Hanni came back to the dorm crying, and I ran to hug her.” Danielle added, “I told Hanni unnie many times that she worked really hard. I watched the entire audit from start to finish, and I was so nervous the whole time. I’m really thankful to the Bunnies (NewJeans’ fandom) who went to support her on-site. Thanks to them, Hanni unnie probably felt more encouraged. I hope people who saw Hanni at the audit felt something as well.”
On October 15, at 2:30 PM, NewJeans’ Hanni appeared as a witness during the National Assembly audit, which involved the Environment and Labor Committee and the Economic, Social, and Labor Committee. This was the first case of a currently active idol group member appearing at a national audit. On this day, Hanni testified about workplace bullying within HYBE. Kim Joo-young, the CEO of NewJeans’ agency ADOR, also attended the audit as a witness.
Hanni said, “I had finished my hair and makeup and was waiting in the hallway. Three other staff members and a female manager passed by, so I greeted them politely. Five or ten minutes later, they came back. The manager made eye contact with me and then told the members following behind, ‘Just ignore her, pretend you didn’t see her,’” she claimed.
At the audit, Hanni also mentioned that Chairman Bang Si-hyuk had not acknowledged her greetings, saying, “I don’t understand why I had to go through this. This issue didn’t happen just once or twice.” She continued, “I knew that if I didn’t speak up, it would quietly pass by and be forgotten again, which is why I came forward. I hope that juniors, seniors, colleagues, and trainees don’t have to go through this. Those who should feel sorry should face this issue head-on, but they’re avoiding it, and that makes me frustrated,” she said tearfully.
In response, CEO Kim Joo-young said, “Unfortunately, based on our internal investigation, the claims conflict with one another. I trust and believe Hanni’s words and claims, and I’m trying to find evidence out of frustration, but unfortunately, we haven’t secured any so far.”