NewJeans' Hanni stood before South Korean lawmakers calling for better treatment for K-pop idols. Her testimony follows a months-long controversy involving Min Hee-Jin, the former CEO (now Internal Director) of New Jeans' agency ADOR, and their parent agency and K-pop giant HYBE.
On October 15, 2024, the 20-year-old Vietnamese-Australian K-pop idol attended a National Assembly session addressing the South Korean parliament's probe into workplace harassment. In a televised session, she pleaded on behalf of other K-pop idols in the industry—particularly her juniors (hoobaes)—saying that they are also humans who should be given equal respect and recognition.
Her plea follows her narration of an instance when she allegedly got disrespected by a manager of another idol group also handled by HYBE, their parent agency. As written in a report by ABS-CBN News, Hanni recalled, "I saw a manager along with three members from another group and said hello...When the manager saw me, she told the members to 'Ignore her as if you didn't see her.' I could not understand why I had to go through this."
Emotional and holding back her tears, Hanni added, "I hope trainees don't suffer these incidents and that's why I decided to appear. I know it's not going to solve all the problems in the world, but if we just respect each other, at least there will be no problems with bullying and harassment in the workplace."
According to Korean news outlet SPOTV News, Hanni noted that there were several instances that made her feel that their parent agency looked down on their group. ADOR's new CEO, Kim Joo Young who was also present at the assembly as a witness, tried to assure Hanni that she took the necessary measures to confirm and resolve Hanni's allegations in the best way possible. However, Hanni expressed her complete dissatisfaction against CEO Kim, claiming that the new CEO has no will to really protect NewJeans.
Hanni's appearance at the National Assembly was deemed to be unprecedented. News reports noted that it was rare for a K-pop idol to talk about the said matters in a setting like that.
Why was NewJeans' Hanni summoned to testify?
Hanni was summoned after she aired out bullying allegations against the manager of K-pop girl group ILLIT during a YouTube live on September 11, 2024. It was when the artist first spoke about ILLIT being instructed to "ignore" New Jeans.
ADOR's new CEO Kim, who took over Min Hee-Jin's place after the whole HYBE fiasco, insisted during the parliamentary session that 1) the manager Hanni was allegedly talking about was not from HYBE, and 2) there was no evidence that supports Hanni's claims.
Regardless, the session ended with lawmakers praising Hanni for standing up for her fellow idols. Moreover, Hanni's decision to testify comes amid the seemingly unending controversy surrounding their group which all started when reports of HYBE asked their super producer (and then-ADOR CEO) Min Hee-Jin to step down from her post in April 2024.
The request for Hee-Jin to step down was reportedly a result of her fallout with HYBE. Dispatch first reported that HYBE received a tip-off claiming that Hee-Jin had "external consulting" to secure full management rights over ADOR.
READ MORE ABOUT MIN HEE JIN VS HYBE HERE: A Timeline Of ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin's Feud Versus HYBE
At present, Hee-Jin claims that she experienced unjust removal from the company she had poured her heart into. But despite her ongoing feud with HYBE, she remains seated as the Internal Director of ADOR, with a focus on still handling NewJeans.
While she declared her stance to move forward with more plans for NewJeans' comeback soon, she clarified in an interview with TV Asahi on October 16, 2024, that she is hoping to resolve the issues as soon as possible. "I have a plan to overcome these challenges. At the moment, I have not signed a producer contract with Hybe or ADOR, so I am not a producer or CEO. I am only acting with the authority of a company director, so in reality, I'm in a kind of [a] 'floating' situation," Hee Jin stated in a quote from The Korea Times' report.
Hee-Jin also disclosed that a world tour for the five-member girl group is initially slated for 2024. NewJeans, consisting of the members Hanni, Haerin, Minji, Danielle, and Hyein, released their latest songs "How Sweet" and "Bubble Gum" in May 2024.
