On the 14th, a committee official stated, “Both the witness (CEO Kim Ju Young) and the reference (NewJeans’ Hanni) have confirmed their attendance.” The committee previously selected Hanni, who raised related allegations, and the CEO to gather opinions on issues like “idol bullying and workplace harassment.”
The situation started with Hanni’s revelations. During a YouTube live broadcast on the 11th of last month, Hanni said, “I encountered another team member, but the team manager told them in front of me to ‘ignore her.’ I don’t understand why I had to go through that.” She claimed to have been a victim of ostracization within HYBE.
She added, “I was scared other members might go through the same. When I told the new CEO (Kim Ju Young) about it, they said there was no evidence and that it was too late. Seeing them try to overlook it made me feel like there was no one left to protect us or care about us. I spoke honestly, but I felt like I was being made out to be a liar in an instant.”
Following this, Belift Lab, the agency of the group ILLIT and a HYBE label, stated, “No member of the ILLIT management team ever told anyone to ‘ignore’ a NewJeans member, and the ILLIT members have never passed by NewJeans members without greeting them.” However, the mothers of NewJeans members countered by accusing HYBE of conducting a poor investigation and covering up CCTV footage, leading to a battle over the truth.
Earlier, on Oct 9th, Hanni shared via the paid communication platform Phoning, “I’ve made my decision. I will attend the National Assembly audit. I’ll go alone. Don’t worry. I’m doing this for myself, my members and Bunnies (fandom name).“
In response to fans’ concerns, Hanni said, “There’s nothing hard about this. I want to go. First of all, I’m grateful to those who are supporting me. I’ve never asked anyone to support me, and staying by someone’s side is not an easy thing to do. People are supporting us without us asking.”
She continued, “There’s no need to feel sorry if all you can do is support. Never! And there’s no need to worry. I don’t know what will come of this experience, but I believe it will be a great learning opportunity for me, which is one of the reasons I want to go.”
On Sep 30th, the National Assembly’s Environment and Labor Committee approved 35 witnesses and reference persons for the upcoming audit. Among them, Hanni was selected as a reference person, and Kim Joo-young, CEO of ADOR, was chosen as a witness.
As the Environment and Labor Committee hearing is scheduled for Oct 25th, discussions regarding workplace harassment are expected to take place.
Previously, Hanni shared during a YouTube live broadcast that while waiting at HYBE’s headquarters, she greeted another celebrity and their manager, but the manager allegedly told the celebrity to “ignore her”.
Hanni reported the incident to ADOR’s CEO, but was told there was no evidence, and it was too late to take action. This left Hanni feeling that there was no one left to protect her.
Even though witnesses and reference persons can submit valid reasons for not attending, Hanni has voluntarily expressed her intent to appear, becoming one of the few idols to attend the National Assembly in her third year since debut.
The bullying allegations involving Hanni had seemingly died down until Oct 8th, when NewJeans‘ mothers reignited the controversy by claiming in an interview that videos related to the bullying had disappeared and accused HYBE of covering up the CCTV footage.
In response, Belift Lab, another HYBE label involved in the alleged bullying, issued a statement refuting the claims.
They explained that the only encounter between ILLIT and NewJeans at HYBE’s headquarters lasted about five minutes, during which the ILLIT members got off the elevator and bowed 90 degrees to Hanni, who was standing in front of them, as they walked by. This moment was captured on video.