National Assembly selects NewJeans' Hanni to testify on bullying in K-pop industry

K-pop girl group NewJeans' member Hanni / Yonhap

The National Assembly's Environment and Labor Committee has selected Hanni, a member of the K-pop girl group NewJeans, as a reference witness as part of its workplace harassment inquiry.

This comes after she alleged a manager from another group within her agency told someone to ignore her after she greeted them. The inquiry is expected to address workplace harassment issues within the entertainment industry.

The committee held a general meeting and selected 35 witnesses and reference witnesses for the upcoming national audit.

Rep. An Ho-young, a member of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea and chairman of the committee, has requested that Hanni appear as a reference witness for the Oct. 25 audit, which will focus on the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Economic, Social and Labor Council.

An plans to question Hanni about bullying in the music industry and workplace harassment. Additionally, Kim Joo-young, the new CEO of Ador and chief human resources officer at HYBE, has been selected as a witness due to alleged inadequate responses to harassment complaints.

Hanni previously spoke about the harassment during a YouTube livestream on Sept. 11, saying that she has been facing unfair treatment by HYBE and its employees since the feud between HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk and former Ador CEO Min Hee-jin began,

Hanni departs from the Gucci Spring Summer 2025 collection, which took place in Milan, Italy, Sept. 20. AP-Yonhap

She said that while waiting in a makeup room, she greeted members of another group, only to have their manager tell them in front of her to ignore her. Hanni expressed frustration, saying, "I still don't understand why I had to go through that."

In reaction to the incident, fans of NewJeans lodged complaints with the Ministry of Employment and Labor as well as the civil rights organization Workplace Gapjil 119.

They highlighted that the situation could be classified as harassment that exceeds acceptable workplace limits.

Hanni is not obligated to testify as a reference witness. According to the National Assembly Act on Testimony and Appraisal, even if someone is selected as a witness or reference witness, they are not required to attend if they submit a valid reason for their absence.

Unlike official witnesses, who may face penalties or orders to appear if their absence is deemed unjustified, reference witnesses face no such consequences.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.