NewJeans' Hanni breaks down in tears during parliamentary audit: "HYBE doesn’t like us".

Hanni of NewJeans and Ador’s CEO Kim Jooyoung expressed conflicting views regarding workplace bullying during a parliamentary audit. Hanni eventually broke down in tears, while CEO Kim expressed regret over the situation.

On the afternoon of October 15th, the National Assembly’s Environment and Labor Committee held a parliamentary audit targeting the Economic, Social, and Labor Council under the Presidential Office and affiliated organizations of the Ministry of Employment and Labor. Hanni was summoned as a reference, and Kim Jooyoung, the CEO of Ador and the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) of HYBE, was called as a witness. The session focused on idol bullying and workplace harassment, marking Hanni as the first K-pop idol to attend a parliamentary audit.

Previously, in September, Hanni conducted an emergency YouTube live broadcast with her fellow members, where she revealed that a manager from another HYBE label had told others to “ignore her”, expressing her distress over the bullying. NewJeans members claimed they reported the situation to Ador’s CEO Kim, but no action was taken.

On this day, Committee Chairman Ahn Ho Young, Representative Park Young, and Representative Woo Jae Joon asked Hanni and CEO Kim questions regarding the incident. Hanni explained the situation, saying, “There is a floor in the HYBE building where we get our hair and makeup done. At the time, we were preparing for a university festival performance at Busan University. I finished hair and makeup early and was waiting in the hallway.”

She continued, “While waiting, three members of another (label) team passed by. A female manager walked by. I had greeted the members well, and about 5 to 10 minutes later, the same people came back. The manager made eye contact with me and told the members following her, ‘just ignore her.’”

She added, “I didn’t understand why this had to happen to me. But this issue wasn’t a one-time occurrence. If I didn’t come forward, it would have been quietly overlooked. And anyone could face something like this. I came forward because I didn’t want anyone else to experience this.”

Hanni also shared other examples to support her claim of being bullied at HYBE. She stated, “It wasn’t just that incident. Since debut, I’ve often encountered high-ranking people. But every time, they never acknowledged my greetings,” implying that she was referring to HYBE Chairman Bang Si Hyuk.

“In Korea, it’s part of the culture to show respect to your elders, and I understood that. But not acknowledging my greetings isn’t just unprofessional—it’s disrespectful as a human being,” she said.

Hanni further explained that it was difficult to confirm the “ignore her” incident and report it to anyone, as it’s something only those who experience it can truly feel. “Honestly, I thought it was just my feeling, but looking at the events that occurred, I realized it wasn’t,” she said.

Hanni added, “There was also the issue with the manager I mentioned earlier. Recently, I saw employees badmouthing NewJeans on an app called Blind. I also heard a recording of a PR team director from the company trying to undermine our success in Japan through reverse viral marketing. All of this made me sure that the company dislikes us, not just my own feeling.”

She went on to explain, “When I first told CEO Kim about this situation, he said there was no evidence. He mentioned there was CCTV footage, but it only showed me greeting people. I found it hard to believe, so I asked to check the CCTV myself. As expected, the footage only showed the greeting and nothing afterwards.”

“Back then, I was unsettled because CEO Kim changed his story. And since I’m a foreigner and don’t understand Korean perfectly, I recorded the conversation because I didn’t want to miss anything important. I have evidence of him lying. I also asked one of the directors if we could meet with the manager involved, to clear things up. But there was only an 8-second video of me greeting, and the footage afterwards wasn’t there. If this is a misunderstanding, I want to resolve it,” she said.

In response, CEO Kim explained, “The first report I received on this matter was on June 13th, through the artist’s parents. I requested the CCTV footage to protect the artist, as I was one of Ador’s board members at the time. I also requested confirmation from the artist’s label and managers regarding the incident.”

Kim added, “Unfortunately, the CCTV storage period had expired by the time I made the request. I also checked if the footage could be restored. Regrettably, the claims from both sides conflict with each other, and the situation remains unclear.”

Kim continued, “I believe everything Hanni has said, and I have made efforts to find supporting evidence, but unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find anything yet.” He also explained that the manager involved was from another label and added that HYBE emphasizes mutual respect in its organizational culture, regularly holding training sessions to ensure respectful collaboration.

Some have argued that since Hanni is under an artist contract with HYBE, she doesn’t qualify as an employee, making it difficult to view the situation as workplace bullying. In response, Kim said, “I understand that Hanni may not be classified as an employee, but that’s not what’s important here.”

Regarding the measures taken, Kim reflected, “I believe I did everything I could, but seeing that Hanni felt this way and that the situation escalated to this point, I wonder if there was more I could have done.”

However, Hanni disagreed with Kim’s remarks, saying, “I’m sorry, but I don’t think CEO Kim did his best. There were definitely more things he could have done. He promised to protect us, but it seems he has no will to fight for us or take action. I can’t agree that he did his best. I hope this issue is resolved quickly.”

In response, Kim pledged, “I will listen more closely to the voices of our artists and strengthen communication. Since both parties’ claims conflict, I believe confirming the facts is the most important step. I will cooperate fully with the ongoing investigation by the Ministry of Labor to clarify the truth.”

Kim also clarified that the CCTV footage was not deliberately deleted. He explained, “I asked the manager involved if she had said ‘ignore her,’ and she denied it. The reason the CCTV footage is missing is that the only footage we had was of the greeting. After that, the 30-day retention period expired, and the footage couldn’t be recovered. It was not deliberately deleted. Since the manager was from another label, we couldn’t force her to cooperate.”

The issue of a conflict between HYBE Chairman Bang Si Hyuk and former Ador CEO Min Hee Jin was also raised. Hanni commented, “I feel like HYBE is trying to bring us down because we’re doing well. I think they did this because they dislike us. I can’t say that this incident didn’t happen due to a conflict between the two sides.” Kim responded, “That matter is currently awaiting a judicial decision.”

Hanni eventually broke down in tears, saying, “A lot of people have been worried about us. Some fans apologized for making us go through this, but I’m grateful to Korea for allowing me to do what I love. The ones who should be apologizing are avoiding responsibility, and that frustrates me.”

She concluded by saying, “Today’s session is about workplace bullying and harassment. Through this experience, I’ve realized that while the law may not be able to solve all the problems in the world, if we respect each other as human beings, there would be no workplace bullying or harassment.”

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