Hanni Pham, a member of K-pop group NewJeans, delivered an emotional testimony to the South Korean Parliament discussing workplace bullying and her own experiences with it on Oct. 16.
Recently, there has been turmoil between NewJeans’ company, Ador, and their parent company, HYBE. HYBE is home to K-pop giants such as BTS, TXT, and Le Sserafim.
The conflict began when Ador’s co-founder, Min Heejin, was removed as CEO in August. There were allegations that Min was planning on splitting away from HYBE and taking NewJeans with her, all of which Min denies according to BBC.
The following month, NewJeans demanded that Min be reinstated as Ador’s CEO and made claims of workplace bullying in a YouTube video posted on a burner account.
NewJeans’ public defiance has shocked the Korean public, as the multi-billion dollar industry is heavily monitored to ensure artists avoid controversy, especially for more prominent artists.
“I hope trainees don’t suffer these incidents, and that’s why I decided to appear,” Pham said.
The news of Hanni’s testimony has been causing waves in Korea; while there has been support for this cause, NewJeans has also faced a lot of hate for their defiance.
Pham recalled an exchange in which she met another group and their manager in the hallway.
“On her way out, [the manager] made eye contact with me, turned to the rest of the group, and said, ‘Ignore her like you didn’t see her,’” Pham said.
She mentioned that this was not the only instance of this happening, alleging that a higher-up at the company never greeted her when she greeted them.
Pham further alleges that she witnessed employees bad-mouthing NewJeans on Blind, an application similar to Slack.
The current CEO of Ador, Kim Joo-young, also appeared at the hearing. Kim stated that she was reviewing both perspectives. She said she attempts to protect their artists to the best of her ability, but Pham disagrees.
“I was told that because there wasn’t any evidence, there was nothing that could be done,” said Pham. After attempting to obtain the security footage of the exchange in the hallway, she found that the footage had ended right before the exchange occurred. She claims that she was not given a concrete reason for the disappearance of the footage.
Ador’s CEO’s comment has been garnering attention: “I understand that artists are not considered workers. However, whether they are workers or not is not important… artists and members need to respect each other and collaborate.”
The Korean pop industry is no stranger to workplace bullying and harassment, with many former idols citing their negative experiences. Labor laws do not cover many performers, so their work environment is often overlooked.
The head of the panel, An Hoyoung, said during the hearing that lawmakers need to ensure that entertainers’ rights are protected.
“I know it’s not going to solve all the problems in the world, but if we just respect each other, at least there will be no problems with bullying and harassment in the workplace,” Pham said during her teary-eyed closing remarks.
