Anna Jiwon Park has been covering the politics at The Korea Times since the summer of 2024, when she joined the press pool for the Office of the President in Korea. Prior to that, she spent about five years reporting extensively on financial markets, regulatory authorities and the financial industry. She joined The Korea Times in 2019 after spending eight years as a broadcast journalist at Arirang TV, Korea’s leading global broadcaster, covering politics, defense and culture.
Reporter's Notebook Korea's National Assembly reduced to level of K-pop fan meeting
Jung In-sub, left, head of Hanwha Ocean's Geoje shipyard, smiles as he takes a selfie with Hanni from K-pop girl group NewJeans at the National Assembly in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap
By Anna J. Park
Criticisms pour in over appropriateness of Hanni's testimony at parliamentary audit
Many Koreans cannot help but feel frustrated and angry as they watched the country's lawmakers, staff and some key witnesses, who gathered for the National Assembly's annual inspection of state affairs, act like fanboys and fangirls around Hanni from the K-pop girl group NewJeans, who attended the parliamentary session on Tuesday.
Setting aside the question of whether her complaint against Hybe, the parent company of her agency Ador, warranted testimony as a case of workplace harassment, the unprofessional behavior displayed by politicians and witnesses at the session have left observers baffled, wondering about what they were seeing in the political arena.
The participants of the National Assembly's annual audit, which should focus on gathering essential data for legislative activities, budget reviews, and monitoring of state affairs, seemed to have forgotten their roles and responsibilities.
Jung In-sub, top left, head of Hanwha Ocean's Geoje shipyard, smiles as he takes a selfie with Hanni from NewJeans at the National Assembly in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap
To begin with, Jung In-sub, head of Hanwha Ocean's shipyard in Geoje, who was called to testify on the multiple worker deaths at his company, was seen taking a selfie with Hanni during the session.
The cheerful smiles from both seemed shockingly out of place, especially considering Jung was there to address the ongoing fatalities at his shipyard — where five workers have died this year alone due to safety accidents, heat-related illnesses and an unexplained drowning.
The shipmaking company ended up issuing a public apology regarding the incident: "We deeply apologize to the public, the National Assembly and the bereaved families for the inappropriate actions of one of our executives." The company further acknowledged that "in the context of attending the National Assembly audit as a witness due to the tragic accident at our workplace, the behavior of our executive was highly inappropriate."
Rep. Kim Tae-seon, a first-term lawmaker from the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), also criticized the executive's actions, emphasizing that he had been summoned as a witness in connection with the death cases at the shipyard. "While people are dying, he is taking selfies. I didn't know what attitude he would bring to this audit, but now it's clear from his behavior," Kim stated.
Another DPK lawmaker, Rep. Park Hong-bae, echoed this sentiment, saying, "You are not here for something positive. Why are you smiling and taking selfies?"
However, such criticisms ring hollow when the lawmaker was seen with a "Bunnies" sticker — referring to the fandom name for NewJeans — affixed to his laptop, which appeared to compromise his neutral stance on the harassment case involving Hanni's testimony.
Hanni, center, from K-pop girl group NewJeans, heads to the national audit venue at the National Assembly in Seoul, Tuesday. Some parliamentary staff members take photos of her on her way to the venue. Yonhap
Unprofessional behavior by politicians also sparked disputes and disruptions as rival parties clashed over the appropriateness of certain lawmakers' actions.
For instance, Rep. Choi Min-hee of the DPK, chair of the parliamentary science and technology committee, took a photo with her phone as Hanni entered the National Assembly building. She later met with Hanni in person, leading members of the ruling People Power Party to question whether Choi had left the meeting room during the regular inspection session to do so. Choi denied these allegations, which resulted in clashes between the ruling and opposition parties and caused the science committee session to be suspended.
"Instead of taking pictures with Hanni, Rep. Choi Min-hee should focus on preparing for the committee session she chairs. This is truly frustrating," commented Lee Ki-in, a senior council member of the New Reform Party, on Facebook.
Rep. An Ho-young, a third-term DPK lawmaker who took up Hanni's controversial harassment case and summoned her as a witness to the parliamentary session, could not avoid criticism, facing a torrent of negative comments flooded by online communities.
"Was Hanni called in just to take pictures with politicians?" one netizen questioned.
Others echoed similar skepticism, stating, "We must not waste the National Assembly's inspection session like this. There are numerous important issues that should be highlighted during the audit, but Hanni's appearance overshadowed everything else."
Another commenter remarked, "While a K-pop idol who makes an enormous amount of money complains about being ignored and is praised at the National Assembly, where should the countless vulnerable individuals facing human rights violations and minimum wage issues raise their voices?"
Some observers criticized the National Assembly for lacking an objective perspective, especially given that Min Hee-jin, the producer of the K-pop group and former CEO of Ador, is embroiled in a highly public legal feud with Hybe, the parent company and home to BTS. Hanni had already shown support for Min in a guerrilla video released last month.
"When a manager from a subsidiary of Hybe says 'ignore her,' and this is labeled as workplace harassment, it seems like an attempt to side with Min Hee-jin by putting Hybe in a negative light. Am I overreacting?" a netizen asked.
By failing to ask critical questions while allowing her only to reiterate information already known to the media and public, the National Assembly squandered valuable time and resources that could have been better spent discussing more systemic and far-reaching issues.