NewJeans' Hanni Tears Up as She Testifies About Workplace Harassment and Bullying: 'We Are All Human'

NewJeans recently asked for their former label CEO, Min Hee-jin, to be reinstated

K-pop has long been known as a regimented sector of the music industry — but a National Assembly audit on workplace harassment, one of the genre's biggest stars took a stand against bullying.

Hanni, one of the members of NewJeans, tearfully took the stand on Tuesday, Oct. 15 before the Environment and Labor Committee of South Korea's National Assembly and discussed her experiences in the workplace.

"We are all human. I think a lot of people are forgetting that," Hanni said per a translation from Korea JoongAng Daily. "I understand that the contracts for artists and trainees may be different [from that of regular workers], but we are all human."

The 20-year-old K-pop singer, who is Vietnamese-Australian and was born Phạm Ngọc Hân, alleged entertainment agency Hybe treated the group poorly. "I came to the realization that this wasn’t just a feeling. I was honestly convinced that the company hated us," Hanni said.

Hanni claimed that was not an isolated incident. "Since my debut [in NewJeans], we ran into a person in a high-up position many times, but they never greeted me when I greeted them," she testified. "I understood from living in Korea that I have to be polite to older people and that’s part of the culture, but I think it’s just disrespectful as a human being to not greet us, regardless of our professional status.”

NewJeans hosted a now-deleted YouTube live stream on Sept. 11 and demanded that Min Hee-jin, the group's creator, be reinstated as CEO of Hybe sub-label ADOR.

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"It's been hard to see many people who have worked with us continue to suffer from unfair demands and pressure even after our CEO was dismissed," fellow member Hyein said on the stream at the time. "It was frustrating to just stand by and watch these situations unfold, and we were very worried about our future as a group of five."

Meanwhile on Tuesday, Hanni continued her testimony.

"I once encountered another idol member and their manager at a makeup place where I often see other idol teams. I overheard the manager loudly saying 'ignore her,' and it shocked me," she said.

"When I heard that there was nothing they could do because there was no evidence, I felt like the people who could protect us were gone, and they had no intention of protecting us. I instantly felt like a liar. Representative Min Hee-jin fought for us, but the people we have now do not."

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Kim Ju-young, the current CEO of ADOR, was also in attendance to be questioned on how he plans to curb harassment at the label after Hanni's experience.

"We took necessary measures such as consulting the staff at the label regarding the manager in question. We received the answer that no such thing took place," Ju-young said per the New York Times. "I took the best possible measures, such as asking whether we could restore the surveillance footage. But the situation is regretfully seeing two conflicting claims from the two parties. I believe Hanni's words, and I have been trying to find a way to prove her claims but we have unfortunately failed to do so."

Min Hee-jin reportedly stepped down as ADOR CEO amid allegations that she would split from the company and bring NewJeans with her. Min denied the accusations and claimed that it wasn't her decision to leave. In a statement made to Korea JoongAng Daily, Min said, "The board made the decision regardless of the CEO’s wishes."

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