NEWJEANS member HANNI will testify before the National Assembly’s Environment and Labor Committee on Oct. 25 about an allegation of workplace harassment, according to a phone message she left Wednesday.
“I’ve decided! I’m going to the National Assembly! For the National Assembly hearing! I’m going alone. Don’t worry. I’m doing this for myself, the members, and the Bunnies (NewJeans fandom). I decided to go for the Bunnies. I’m not afraid. I want to go,” she said on the fan communication platform.
HANNI said she had “thought long and hard” about her decision, according to the publication.
“I’m not sure of the outcome, but I believe this experience will be a valuable learning opportunity,” she said.
ADOR CEO Kim Joo Young, who was also summoned to testify, has yet to confirm her attendance.
On September 11, the five members of NEWJEANS requested in a YouTube live that HYBE reinstate Min Heejin as ADOR’s CEO. During the live, HANNI claimed that she heard a manager telling the other HYBE artists to “ignore her.”
HANNI explained the incident by saying, “I greeted a manager and artists from another group in the HYBE building, but the manager told them to ignore me. I still don’t understand why I had to go through this.”
The NEWJEANS members and their parents later asked HYBE to provide them with CCTV footage of the incident, but HYBE denied the allegations and claimed that the footage was deleted due to an expired storage date. The K-pop group’s parents later publicly accused HYBE and its label Belift Lab of deleting the footage to cover up HANNI’s alleged abuse in an interview with local media outlet Ilgan Sports on October 6.
Both companies have strongly denied intentionally deleting the CCTV footage. Belift Lab issued a press release the following day, calling the accusations “absurd” and demanding that attempts to smear its girl group ILLIT cease.
NEWJEANS’ parents countered the allegations in a separate interview published by Ilgan Sports on Thursday, saying they did not attempt to smear a specific group. They explained that they had tried to resolve the issue internally and had not publicly named any specific labels or artists.
Meanwhile, Bunnies announced on Wednesday that they would file a formal complaint against ADOR CEO Kim Joo Young and other relevant staff members at the Yongsan Police Station on Thursday. The charges include violations of the Information and Communications Network Act, defamation, and the Bribery Prohibition Act.
Journalist: Shawn
Translator: Shawn
Source: News1
