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NewJeans' Hanni to testify at South Korea's National Assembly audit regarding workplace bullying

The 20-year-old Vietnamese-Australian member of K-pop girl group NewJeans was previously selected as a reference witness for the National Assembly's Environment and Labour Committee as part of its inquiry into workplace harassment within the entertainment industry.

NewJeans' Hanni to testify at South Korea's National Assembly audit regarding workplace bullying

Hanni, a member of K-pop group NewJeans, smiles during the Korea Tourism Honorary Ambassador Appointment Ceremony in Seoul, South Korea on Jul 11, 2024. South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism appointed NewJeans as the Korea Tourism Honorary Ambassador for 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

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On Wednesday night (Oct 9), Hanni of K-pop group NewJeans announced that she would be testifying at South Korea's upcoming National Assembly audit regarding workplace bullying on Oct 15. The National Assembly audit sees 17 parliamentary standing committees auditing 802 government institutions in South Korea across 26 days.

The 20-year-old Vietnamese-Australian was previously selected as a reference witness by the National Assembly's Environment and Labour Committee as part of its inquiry into workplace harassment within the entertainment industry.

The members of NewJeans – Haerin, Hanni, Hyein, Danielle and Minji – in a now-deleted livestream on Sep 11, 2024 where they addressed their concerns regarding label ADOR's new management system. (Photo: YouTube/NewJeans)

On Sep 11, the five members of NewJeans – Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin and Hyein – made a guerrilla livestream where they spoke about their workplace conditions and voiced out their support for their former CEO Min Hee-jin who was removed from her position in August.

During the livestream, Hanni recounted an incident during which she claimed that another HYBE group was told to "ignore her".

"The fourth floor of the HYBE building is where we get our hair and makeup done, so a lot of other artistes and staff go there. One day, I was waiting alone in the hallway, and [another HYBE group] passed by.

"We greeted each other but when they came back out a bit later, I heard one of their managers say 'Ignore her' right in front of me. I could hear and see everything clearly. Even now, I still don’t understand why I had to go through that."

Even though Hanni did not name the group and manager in question, subsequent statements by parent company HYBE and its sub-label Belift Lab revealed that the group involved was Illit – whom Min Hee-jin had previously accused of copying NewJeans.

Addressing her reasons for testifying, Hanni wrote on NewJeans' messaging app: "I'm doing this for myself, my members and for Bunnies (NewJeans' fandom)...I've thought about it a lot but I believe going forward is the right thing to do."

Hanni also thanked fans for their support, saying: "I think supporting someone or staying by their side is not an easy thing to do, especially when we didn't ask for it. I'm so grateful for that."

Source: CNA/hq

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