NewJeans’ Hanni to testify at National Assembly on workplace bullying allegations

NewJeans’ Hanni has said she will appear at a parliamentary labor committee meeting next week to talk about workplace bullying, after she claimed she was being ostracized in her management company.

Last week, the parliamentary labor and environment committee asked Hanni and her management firm ADOR’s CEO Kim Ju-young to appear as witnesses after the singer alleged that a manager from the girl group ILLIT told ILLIT members to “ignore” her at HYBE’s headquarters.

Belift Lab, ILLIT’s agency and HYBE’s sub-label, denied the accusation.

Hanni is scheduled to attend the committee meeting set for Tuesday next week.

“I’ve made my decision. I will appear before the National Assembly,” she wrote on the fan communication platform Phoning, adding that she made the decision for herself and her fellow members as well as NewJeans’ fanbase, Bunnies.

“I will attend the parliamentary audit session alone,” she said. “The manager and the company are not yet aware of this. “I’ve thought a lot and I think it is the right thing to appear.”

NewJeans’ fans plan to file complaints with police later in the day against Kim, an ADOR vice CEO surnamed Lee, HYBE Chief Communication Officer Park Tae-hee and a HYBE communication manger surnamed Cho, accusing them of breach of trust and obstruction of work.

The case is the latest in an ongoing conflict between former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin, whom NewJeans supports, and parent company HYBE. In August, HYBE removed Min from her position after months of tensions over allegations that she had attempted to take control of ADOR and NewJeans.