NewJeans member Hanni has suffered a loss in her court battle with Hybe.
On Nov. 20, the Seoul Regional Office of Employment and Labor announced the closure of its investigation into harassment allegations against Hanni, concluding that the singer does not qualify as an employee under the law.
"It is difficult to consider Hanni a worker under the Labor Standards Act, so the case was administratively closed," a statement from the Korean Labor office said via Billboard.
Hanni debuted in 2022 as a member of NewJeans, the first girl group signed to the HYBE sub-label ADOR. HYBE, known for its powerhouse acts like BTS, SEVENTEEN, and Le SSERAFIM, oversees several labels including ADOR.
Hanni gave tearful testimony about the alleged harassment she endured last month, telling the National Assembly's Environment and Labor Committee: "We have a floor in our building where we do hair and makeup and, at that time, I was waiting in the hallway because my hair and makeup was done first... I said hello to all of them, and then they came back about five or 10 minutes later. 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.' I don't understand why she would say something like that in the work environment."
She also claims that this had happened more than once and that senior members of Hybe had also been the ones to give her the cold shoulder.
"Since my debut [in NewJeans], we ran into a person in a high-up position many times, but they never greeted me when I greeted them," she said.
"I understood from living in Korea that I have to be polite to older people and that's part of the culture - but I think it's just disrespectful as a human being to not greet us, regardless of our professional status. There was a certain vibe [of disrespect] that I felt within the company," Hanni continued.
The NewJeans member further alleged that employees of the company had said some nasty things about the group on an app called Blind. Additionally, she claims that HYBE's PR tried to downplay the group's success by contacting journalists and having them minimize their achievements. The record label has denied all accusations that have been brought against them by Hanni.
The singer has gone as far as to say that the company "hated" them.
NewJeans was founded in 2022 and includes the members Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin and Hyein. They have gone on to become a global sensation since their founding and have scored hits like "Super Shy" and "OMG."
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