K-Pop Singer Hanni From NewJeans Gave An Emotional Testimony About Being Bullied At Work To Parliament
NewJeans has been embroiled in a controversy with its label, ADOR, and its parent company HYBE Corporation, most famously known as the management company of BTS.
K-pop singer Hanni from NewJeans called for better treatment of idols at the South Korean parliament on Tuesday Oct. 15.
The 20-year-old Vietnamese-Australian artist gave her testimony to the environment and labor committee of South Korea’s national assembly, which had been holding hearings about workplace bullying and harassment.
The hearings are a response to widespread reports of workplace harassment and bullying, with about 70% of employees in South Korea reporting such experiences, according to rights groups, the BBC reported.
Recently, NewJeans has been embroiled in a controversy with its label, ADOR, and its parent company HYBE Corporation, most famously known as the management company of BTS.
Just a month earlier, NewJeans released a YouTube video calling for ADOR’s former CEO, Min Hee-jin, to be reinstated, saying that HYBE had fostered a toxic working environment.
Hanni chose to attend the hearing alone, explaining that she made the decision for both NewJeans and its fans.
During the hearing, she spoke of her own experience as a K-pop artist, recounting a time when a manager told other artists to “ignore her like you didn't see her”.
Currently, artists are not labeled as employees and are not protected by labor laws in South Korea.
"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," she added.
She also shared other instances when she discovered HYBE employees insulting NewJeans in the company’s messaging app and the PR department downplaying their accomplishments.
“I thought it was all in my head, but everything that has been happening makes us realize that the company just dislikes us," she added, according to the media outlet Korea JoongAng Daily.
NewJeans was created in 2022 and quickly rose to fame for its songs, becoming the best-selling K-pop women artists in 2023.
Hanni’s testimony is a rare insight into the South Korean entertainment industry, and NewJeans fans have praised her bravery.
You Might Also Be Interested In
Igra Abdi
Igra Abdi
