“Not just be huffing and puffing about it in the US”- Park Hongbae calls out Bang Si-hyuk’s absence at NewJeans’ parliamentary audit

On Tuesday, October 15, Korean media outlet IS Plus reported that Democratic Party lawmaker Park Hongbae criticized HYBE Label’s chairman Bang Si-hyuk for his absence during NewJeans’ parliamentary audit session. NewJeans’ Hanni appeared for the audit session amid the group’s bullying incident controversy, where she shared the complete incidents of workplace harassment.

For the uninitiated, HYBE Label is the parent company of ADOR, which is the management label for NewJeans. Consequently, HYBE chairman Bang Si-hyuk and ADOR CEO Kim Joo-young faced significant condemnation from Hongbae for failing to acknowledge the gravity of the situation. As translated by the X page Kpop Charts (@kchartsmaster), Park Hongbae said during the session:

“Bang Si-hyuk, the chairman of HYBE, who caused the controversy, is not here. I think we need to realise the seriousness of the situation withing the company, not just be huffing and puffing about it in the US.”

Park Hongae called out HYBE chairman Bang Si-hyuk (Image via X/@kchartmaster)

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NewJeans’ Hanni officially confirmed her attendance at the National Assembly on October 9

Hanni announced on October 9 that she would attend the National Assembly audit on workplace bullying as a reference witness. On Wednesday, the K-pop idol announced her decision via the Korean fan networking app Phoning, saying,

“I will attend the audit alone. I’m doing this for myself, the NewJeans members, and our fans.”

The singer further stated that she took the decision without informing her managers or record company, ADOR. In addition to Hanni from NewJeans, Kim Joo-young (CEO of ADOR) testified at the Environment and Labor Committee's parliamentary audit to answer questions about bullying at work.

Hanni and Kim Joo-young's participation in the audit was prompted by comments the NewJeans member made on a YouTube streaming session on September 11. She mentioned:

"I greeted another artist, but the manager said, 'Ignore them.' I don’t understand why we have to go through this."

Following the live webcast, over 100 complaints were made with the Ministry of Employment and Labor's Seoul Western District Office, elevating the situation from an entertainment topic to a bigger social concern.

During the parliamentary session on October 15, Democratic Party's Park Jung questioned the lack of evidence for the "ignore them" comment, claiming that only partial CCTV footage was available. Meanwhile, CEO Kim explained:

"It’s not that it was actively deleted, but it wasn’t kept, so it cannot be recovered."

When questioned if there were attempts to organize an apology between Hanni and the manager, Kim responded,

"The manager involved isn’t part of the ADOR label, but another label’s manager, so I had appealed to the other label’s CEO."

Park responded by questioning the availability of higher authorities to address the situation. Then, Kim said that as all of the labels operate independently, it is difficult to enforce anything.

Democratic Party lawmaker Park Hong-bae likewise slammed HYBE Label's chairman Bang Si-hyuk for his absence from the National Assembly. He then called out Kim Joo-young, saying,

"Are you still HYBE’s Chief Human Resources Officer? You say you tried to mediate, but the other label didn’t cooperate because they’re separate entities. Does that even make sense?"

Kim further stated that the label is attempting to arbitrate, but there are contradictory allegations that have not been entirely resolved. During the audit, Joo-young was also questioned on whether the artists were considered corporate employees or not. To this, she answered,

"The Respectful Behavior Code applies not only to employees but also to artists and external partners."

To this, Park reacted by saying,

"HYBE’s guidelines explicitly state that company members include both artists and other employees. Artists are also HYBE members, aren’t they?"

Kim consented to lawmaker Park. Moving forward, she admitted that if the "ignore them" comment was correct, it would be a breach of regulations. Joo-young stated:

"We have created the RW (Respectful Workplace) Code and are making many efforts, but it’s regrettable that this incident has occurred. We will be more careful and work towards improvement."

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In other related news, Min Hee-jin, former CEO of ADOR, was dismissed on August 27, 2024, amid charges that she plotted a hostile takeover that would separate NewJeans and ADOR from their parent company, HYBE. Hee-jin has since disputed the claims made against her.