"That’s how cover-ups are done"— National Assembly member accuses HYBE of covering up workplace death of an employee in 2022, ADOR CEO denies

A South Korean National Assembly member recently accused HYBE of covering up an employee's death allegedly caused by overexertion at the workplace. However, ADOR CEO Kim Joo-young has denied the accusations.

On October 15, 2024, the current CEO of HYBE's subsidiary label, ADOR, and former Chief of Human Resources, Kim Joo-young, attended the audit of the National Assembly of Environment and Labor Committee due to alleged mistreatment towards NewJeans.

According to E Daily, during the audit, Progressive Party representative Jeong Hye-kyung claimed that the conglomerate attempted to conceal a HYBE employee's death in June 2022.

The ADOR CEO agreed to the employee's death, saying that the incident took place in September 2022. According to Kim Joo-young, the employee passed out at work and was taken to the hospital. However, a few days later, they passed away due to personal illness.

The CEO added that "the bereaved family agreed" not to file an industrial accident report. Rep. Jeong Hye-kyung accused HYBE of covering up the incident by not reporting it to the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service.

“Yes. That’s how cover-ups are done. They’re covered up after reaching an agreement with the bereaved family. Please confirm the details of the case and send them to us.”

In response, Kim Joo-young said,

“HYBE has never covered up anything.”

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The National Assembly of Environment and Labor Committee demands relevant documents regarding HYBE employee’s death

On October 15, 2024, the ADOR CEO was summoned to the National Assembly of Environment and Labor Committee to address the alleged mistreatment by the agency and the parent label towards the K-pop girl group NewJeans.

However, another issue at the session that gained attention online was the alleged workplace death of a HYBE employee in 2022. According to E Daily, Kim Joo-young spoke about the details of the incident, saying,

“In September 2022, they said they were going to take a short break in the office and went to the nap room to rest around 5 p.m., but unfortunately, they were found collapsed and taken to the hospital, where they passed away a few days later from a personal illness. It’s very unfortunate.”

However, according to the Progressive Party representative, this case would be considered as death due to overwork from the Health and Welfare Committee perspective.

Jeong Hye-kyung reportedly said the entertainment company had not filed any industrial accident report per Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service. She further accused the agency of covering the case.

“You say it was a personal illness. From the perspective of the members of the Health and Welfare Committee, it was death from overwork. At the time, as HYBE expanded its affiliates and was simultaneously taking care of idol groups and overseas schedules, there were many cases where they worked day and night,” she said.

“When I checked with the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service, there were no industrial accident reports. You say it was a personal illness, but from our perspective, it’s an issue that should have been checked, and it appears to be death from overwork.”

Kim Joo-young denied the claims made by Rep. Jeong Hye-kyung. In response, the latter questioned whether the entertainment company got an autopsy done. Kim Joo-young said that it was the decision of the employee's family.

Rep. Jeong Hye-kyung reportedly demanded that the entertainment agency present relevant documents regarding the employee's death to the committee.