On October 15, Hanni participated as a reference witness in the National Assembly audit of the Economic, Social and Labor Council and affiliated organizations of the Ministry of Employment and Labor. She testified about workplace bullying issues that occurred at HYBE.
Hanni‘s decision to attend the audit was voluntary, and she had previously informed fans of her intention to appear before the National Assembly. On October 9, Hanni announced on NewJeans’ fan communication platform “Phoning”, “I’ve decided to go to the National Assembly. I made this decision for myself, my members, and for Bunnies (NewJeans’ fandom),” expressing her strong determination.
Hanni’s appearance at the audit was not discussed in advance with ADOR, a label under HYBE. By making this decision public without consulting her agency, Hanni demonstrated her resolve, stating, “My manager and the company don’t know yet, but no matter how much I think about it, I believe attending (the audit) is the right thing to do.”
NewJeans members are showing their support for Hanni’s audit appearance. Member Minji changed her status message on Phoning to “otter, teddy bear, and rabbit emojis with a message of encouragement,” using the otter emoji symbolizing Hanni, her own teddy bear symbol, and the rabbit emoji representing their fandom.
Danielle also sent an affectionate message of support on the same morning, saying, “Our awesome Pham unnie~! You’ve Got This!!! Phamting~~!!!!”
Hanni’s family is also supporting her decision. Her mother stated, “Our family sincerely supports Hanni’s decision to attend the National Assembly and speak about workplace bullying.”
In addition to Hanni, ADOR’s new CEO Kim Joo-young was also scheduled to appear as a witness at this audit. This will be her first public appearance since taking the position of ADOR’s CEO after the “HYBE-Min Hee-jin incident”, and many are curious about what she would say.
NewJeans fans are also taking action against HYBE. “Team Bunnies” has filed a complaint with the Seoul Yongsan Police Station against high-ranking officials of HYBE and ADOR on charges of breach of trust and violation of personal information protection laws, demanding a strong response to this situation.
After the hour-long testimony at the National Assembly audit, Hanni shared her feelings with fans. She wrote on Phoning, “I’m so grateful. Bunnies, you’ve worked so hard, thank you so much. I don’t want to cry, but I can’t stop the tears. I’m just so thankful, really.”
During the audit, Hanni provided detailed explanations about the incident she had mentioned in a YouTube live broadcast on September 11, where another artist’s manager had said “Ignore her.” She stated, “It wasn’t just that incident. From the beginning of our debut, whenever I encountered certain high-ranking individuals, they never once returned my greetings. I understood that in Korean culture, older people tend to value manners more, so not returning a greeting, regardless of professional hierarchy, I think is disrespectful as a human being.”
Hanni also pointed out CEO Kim Joo-young’s lukewarm response to the issues she had experienced and witnessed within the company, including attempts to downplay NewJeans’ achievements. In response, Kim explained that she had requested to check the CCTV footage of the incident but couldn’t obtain it as the retention period had expired. She added, “As the internal director of ADOR at the time, I believe I took all the measures I could.” Hanni refuted this, saying, “I’m sorry, but I don’t think you did your best.”
Hanni became tearful during her final statement. She said, “Throughout this experience, I’ve thought a lot about how, while there may not be laws that can solve all the world’s problems, if we respect each other as human beings, at least workplace bullying and ostracism might not occur.” She continued, “I hope that other seniors, peers, juniors, or trainees don’t have to worry about these issues. I’ve seen that many people have been concerned for us, and I’m very grateful for that.”
Hanni and CEO Kim Joo-young’s appearance at the audit came after over 100 investigation petitions were filed with the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Office following the public disclosure of the “ignore her” incident during a live broadcast on September 11. The Environment and Labor Committee held a general meeting on September 30 and selected Hanni as a witness. While there was much attention on whether Hanni, an Vietnamese-Australian idol, would attend, she declared her intention to appear through Phoning. Upon arriving at the National Assembly, she told reporters, “I don’t need to express my feelings (about attending) because our fans already understand my heart well.”