NewJeans’ Hanni tearfully testifies on workplace harassment at Hybe: “I was honestly convinced that the company hated us”

nme.com:

NewJeans’ Hanni has tearfully testified on workplace harassment at South Korea’s National Assembly.Hanni, real name Phạm Ngọc Hân, alleged that the entertainment agency Hybe deliberately undermined the group, while she also accused senior management of deliberately ignoring her.She said, “I came to the realisation that this wasn’t just a feeling.

I was honestly convinced that the company hated us.”Following her testimony, Kim Joo-Young, the current CEO of the group’s record label, Ador – a subsidiary of Hybe – said she’d listen more closely to the artists on the label, and asked, “I wonder if there was more I could have done.”Last month, Hanni, who turned 20 on October 6, was called to give evidence to the Labour Committee of the National Assembly at a hearing about workplace harassment after NewJeans discussed their experience following their mentor Min Hee-Jin leaving her role at Ador.Min co-founded Ador in 2021, but a dispute between her and Hybe broke out in April this year – in August, the label’s board members dismissed her as CEO amid accusations that she was planning to split from Hybe and take NewJeans with her, which Min has repeatedly denied, also alleging that it wasn’t her choice to leave.Throughout, the members of NewJeans continually expressed their support of Min, and in a YouTube livestream on September 11 they discussed issues with Hybe’s management, alleging workplace harassment, private leaks and the deletion of previously released content, among other concerns.A post shared by NewJeans (@newjeans_official)Hanni’s bandmate Minji gave Hybe chairman Bang Si-Hyuk an ultimatum to reinstate Min as CEO by September 25, but on that day Hybe rejected the request and cited its principle of keeping management.