NewJeans’ HANNI Bullying Case Rejected by Korean Ministry of Labor

The Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Office announced on Wednesday (November 20) that it has closed its investigation into a case involving alleged harassment against him. newdenim member HANNI after determining that the singer could not be considered an employee under the law.

According to a statement from the labor office, “It is difficult to recognize HANNI as a worker under the Labor Standards Act, so the case has been administratively closed.” 20-year-old HANNI (born Phạm Ngọc Hân) made her debut as a member of the first girl group to sign with HYBE label ADOR in 2022; ADOR is a subsidiary of HYBE, which supports artists such as BTS, SEVENTEEN, and Le SSERAFIM, among other labels.

After the Vietnamese-Australian singer made the claim during an event YouTube live broadcast Manager of another company in September kpop When the group under the HYBE umbrella (ILLIT) instructed its artists to “ignore” her at the HYBE Headquarters in Seoul, HANNI’s fans filed a complaint with the Ministry of Labor and Employment as well as a civil rights organization.

HANNI gave it Tearful testimony about the alleged incident “We have a floor in our building where we do hair and makeup, and I was waiting in the hallway at that time because my hair and makeup had been done first… I said hello to all of them and they came back about five or 10 minutes later,” she told the National Assembly Environment and Labor Committee last month. On my way out (the manager) made eye contact with me, turned to the rest of the group and said: ‘Ignore him like you haven’t seen him.’ “I don’t understand why you would say something like that in a work environment.”

In a striking moment during the deposition, HANNI said the various allegations of disrespect made him realize: “It wasn’t just a feeling. “I was really convinced that the company hated us.”

He added that these were not isolated incidents and that he often felt belittled and ignored by his company’s management team, which left him and his bandmates feeling disrespected. “We are all human. “I think a lot of people forget this,” he said in his statement. “I know that artists’ and interns’ contracts may be different (from those of regular employees), but we are all human.”

Dismissing the investigation from the labor office, the statement continued: “Given the content and nature of the management contract signed by HANNI, it is difficult to consider him a worker within the meaning of the Labor Standards Act, which involves working in a subordinate relationship for remuneration.” In the justification of the decision, it was stated that the relationship between HANNI and ADOR was one in which “each party fulfills its contractual obligations as equal contractual parties, making it difficult to consider that there is control or direction of the company.”

Additionally, the ruling stated: “The company rules, regulations and systems that apply to regular employees did not apply to him (as an artist)… both the company and HANNI shared the necessary expenses for entertainment activities. Both parties pay their own taxes, and he pays business income tax, not employment income tax” and “HANNI assumes the risks associated with making profits and potential losses from entertainment activities.”