HYBE suspected of covering up the incident of making someone 'log out', Hanni burst into tears in court

Hanni (NewJeans) recently attended a state audit by the National Assembly's Labor and Environment Committee (Korea). Here, Hanni once again clarified what she believes is that HYBE's leaders and employees have discriminated and been unfair to NewJeans.

Hanni was present at the National Assembly's Labor and Environment Committee's bullying hearing on October 15, where she accused a group under the same group of idols of being told by their managers to ignore her when she greeted them.

Responding to a delegate asking why she thought the company didn't like her, Hanni replied: "I think the reason the group doesn't like us is because the group debuted in a different way than the direction they had set out and then became successful. Therefore, the group constantly acts to put us down. That's why I think they don't like our group."

She confirmed that this was related to the conflict between Chairman Bang Si Hyuk and former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin: "It can't be unrelated. They didn't need to do such things to us, but they did, so I feel like I can't sit still forever."

The NewJeans member said similar behavior had happened more than once or twice. She didn't want to stay silent and let the incident continue to be ignored, or even buried. Because she knew it could happen to anyone. "I hope that my current trainees, seniors, juniors, or colleagues won't have to face this," Hanni said.

Hanni remained calm and spoke firmly throughout the hearing. At the end of her speech, she burst into tears as she said, "If I were to come back here, I would learn Korean better."

ADOR's current CEO, Kim Joo Young, was also present at the hearing for questioning. A member of the Labor and Environment Committee questioned the CEO on suspicion that HYBE had requested the removal of an article about an employee 'logging out' due to overwork in 2022. During that time, she was HYBE's human resources director.

The late employee had to handle a large amount of work due to the increase in branches overnight, then collapsed in the office and died just a few days after receiving treatment at the hospital. HYBE did not report the incident and was accused of covering it up with personal illness.

CEO Kim Joo Young denied the allegations. She asserted that the decision not to conduct an autopsy was the former employee's parents' decision, and that HYBE did not intentionally conceal it. She asked the member to find out more about the case and forward the file to the congressman's office.

Through the hearing, a painful truth about the Korean entertainment industry was also exposed, when idols are not considered employees in the company. This means they will not be protected under the Labor Standards Act.

According to The Korea Times, CEO Kim Ju Young, representing HYBE, reiterated the company's stance during the audit that artists are not classified as employees and therefore not protected under the Labor Standards Act.

"There is still discussion about whether artists should be considered employees, but right now they are not," the female director emphasized.

However, Hanni does not think that artist or employee contracts are the problem, what matters is the attitude towards each other in the workplace. She concluded: "Through this experience, I realized that although the law may not solve all the problems in the world, if we respect each other as human beings, there will be no bullying in the workplace."

At the end of the meeting, Ms. Kim Ju Young - CEO of Ador - affirmed: "I will listen more closely to the voices of our artists and strengthen communication.

Since both sides' claims are contradictory, I believe that confirming the truth is the most important step. I will fully cooperate with the Ministry of Labor's ongoing investigation to clarify the truth."

The post about Hanni attending the National Assembly session quickly became the top search in Korea. On Allkpop, there were 25,000 views and nearly 200 comments on this issue.