“No defects were found” — Director of Employment Policy denies interference in HYBE’s ‘Top Job Creation Company’ selection amid NewJeans’ controversy

On Wednesday, October 16, 2024, the Ministry of Employment and Labor claimed that they couldn't find any flaws in HYBE while selecting it as the 'Top Job Creation Company'. South Korean newspaper Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that however, the Ministry of Employment and Labor agreed that recently a complaint was filed against the company amidst NewJeans' ongoing controversy.

On October 15, the National Assembly audit was held, where NewJeans' Hanni was also called as a witness to testify against the company's workplace bullying. NewJeans is a rookie girl group of ADOR, a HYBE subsidiary. Hanni had claimed that she was allegedly mistreated by another subsidiary group's manager.

During a YouTube livestream (September 11), Hanni said that she heard a manager of the other idol group tell the artists to "ignore" her. Following this claim, the Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Park Hong-bae questioned Lee Jeong-han, the director of employment policy at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, about HYBE's selection as the "Top Job Creation Company".

Director Lee Jeong-han confirmed that HYBE's selection as one of the 100 best companies for jobs was decided on fair methods. The company earned the accolade in September 2023. Lee Jeong-han said:

"After receiving recommendations from the public and looking at various aspects such as the turnover rate and support for work-family balance, we conducted an on-site inspection and checked the reputation of labor-management groups, and since no defects were found, the decision was made fairly by the review committee of private experts."

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Democratic Party lawmaker, Park Hong-bae, questioned HYBE's workplace culture based on NewJeans' Hanni's claims

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker, Park Hong-bae, further mentioned the visit of South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol’s wife, Kim Kun-hee, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s wife, Yuko, at HYBE in September 2024. Park Hong-bae questioned if this visit had any impact on the Ministry of Employment and Labor awarding the company the title of 'Top Job Creation Company'.

Director Lee Jeong-han of the Ministry of Employment and Labor refuted all claims and asserted that they took into account the standard procedures and parameters before awarding the company the status.

Park Hong-bae pressed on the complaint filed against the conglomerate during the National Assembly audit, highlighting NewJeans' Hanni's allegations. In response, the director of the Labor Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, Kim Yoo-jin, stated:

“A complaint has been received, and the local government office is currently checking the contents of the report and the facts. There are some realities where it’s difficult to apply the Labor Standards Act.”

Meanwhile, NewJeans' Hanni claimed that she felt systematic discrimination and mistreatment by HYBE and said in her testimony at the Assembly audit:

"I know that if I don't speak up, the issue will quietly fade away. I came forward because I don't want anyone else in the industry — whether they are seniors, juniors, peers or trainees — to go through the same thing."

ADOR's new CEO, Kim Joo-young also attended the National Assembly audit. Hanni stated that she shared her concerns with Kim Joo-young but the ADOR CEO dismissed them.

Although Kim Joo-young highlighted that Hanni's incident happened on May 27, 2024, and they checked the footage in late June. As the CCTV footage exceeded the 30-day storage period, the footage was auto-deleted.

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Ministry of Employment and Labor’s Industrial Safety Bureau announced at the National Assembly audit that they would look into the filed complaint and investigate HYBE's workplace culture carefully to ensure artists' protection.