NewJeans singer Hanni provides tearful testimony on office harassment

A member of the chart-topping Okay-pop group NewJeans has tearfully testified to South Korean lawmakers as a part of an enquiry into office harassment.

Hanni, who’s 20 years previous, alleged that the leisure company Hybe had intentionally undermined her band, and accused senior managers of intentionally ignoring her.

Following a number of incidents, she stated, “I came to the realisation that this wasn’t just a feeling. I was honestly convinced that the company hated us.”

After listening to her testimony, the CEO of NewJeans’ report label, Ador – a subsidiary of Hybe – stated he would “listen more closely” to his artists, including: “I wonder if there was more I could have done.”

Hanni, who is Vietnamese-Australian, was testifying to the Labour Committee of South Korea’s National Assembly at a hearing about workplace harassment.

She was called to give evidence last month, after NewJeans went public with allegations about their treatment following the dismissal of their mentor Min Hee-Jin.

Min, who co-founded Ador in 2021, has been a key figure in the band’s success but she was removed from her post in August, following accusations that she had planned to split from Hybe, taking NewJeans with her.

Min repeatedly denied those. Then, in September, NewJeans took the unusual step of going public with their dissatisfaction at the situation.

Posting on a burner YouTube account, they demanded Min’s reinstatement and made claims of workplace harassment.

In one incident, Hanni said that when she greeted the members of another band at their record label offices, a manager had instructed them to “ignore her”.

The singer said that when she reported the incident, her concerns had been brushed off.

During her testimony, Hanni went into further detail about the exchange.

“We’ve a ground in our constructing the place we do hair and make-up. And at the moment, I used to be ready within the hallway as a result of my hair and make-up was carried out first.”

As she waited, three singers from another band and their manager walked past., Hanni continued.

“I stated hey to all of them, after which they got here again about 5 or 10 minutes later.

“On her way out, [the manager] made eye contact with me, turned to the rest of the group and said, ‘Ignore her like you didn’t see her’.

“I do not perceive why she would say one thing like that within the work atmosphere,” she added.

Speaking at the National Assemblyin Seoul, Hanni said this was not an isolated incident, and claimed that senior members of Hybe management had also given her the cold shoulder.

“Since my debut [in NewJeans], we bumped into an individual in a high-up place many occasions, however they by no means greeted me once I greeted them,” she said.

“I understood from dwelling in Korea that I’ve to be well mannered to older individuals and that is a part of the tradition – however I feel it is simply disrespectful as a human being to not greet us, no matter our skilled standing.”

She continued: “There was a sure vibe [of disrespect] that I felt throughout the firm.”

Hanni further alleged that she had seen employees bad-mouthing NewJeans on Blind – an app for internal communications similar to Teams or Slack.

She also said Hybe’s PR department had contacted a journalist, asking him to downplay NewJeans’ achievements in an article about their record sales.

Hybe has previously denied those accusations, saying they had been attempting to correct a factual error.

However, Hanni said the incident reinforced her feeling “that the corporate hated us”.

Kim Joo-young, who is the current CEO of Ador, was also called to testify at the hearing.

He said he believed Hanni’s story of being shunned by another band’s manager, but had been “unable to seek out supporting proof”.

CCTV footage of the incident had expired before he had the chance to request it, he told the committee.

“I believe I did everything I could, but seeing that Hanni felt this way and that the situation escalated to this point, I wonder if there was more I could have done,” he added.

Kim also said he would co-operate with an investigation into the incident by South Korea’s Ministry of Labour.

The story has gripped South Korean media and fans of K-Pop – where NewJeans have emerged as one of the genre’s brightest new bands.

With slick pop songs like Super Shy, OMG and Supernatural, they were the eighth biggest-selling act in the world last year, and were nominated for best group at this year’s MTV Awards.

Formed by Ador in 2022, its five members – Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin and Hyein – range in age from 16 to 20.

Despite the behind-the-scenes drama, they have continued to release and perform music.

That’s partly because they are committed to a seven-year contract, which runs out in 2029.

The K-pop news site Koreaboo estimated that the members would have to pay about 300 billion South Korean Won (about £170 million) to terminate the contract early.

Hanni concluded Tuesday’s session by expressing her frustration at how the internal dispute had overshadowed her band’s career.

“A lot of people have been worried about us,” she said, wiping away tears.

“Some fans apologised for making us go through this, but I’m grateful to Korea for allowing me to do what I love.

“The ones who should be apologising are avoiding responsibility, and that frustrates me.”