The appearance by Hanni, a member of NewJeans, was eagerly awaited, but she offered few revelations about her famously regimented industry.
It is rare for voices of dissent to emerge from within the tightly-controlled K-pop industry. So when one of its hottest stars was set to speak out about bullying in the workplace at a hearing in South Korea’s Parliament, expectations were high.
The star witness was Hanni, 20, a member of NewJeans, one of the biggest K-pop acts, which together with its producer has been embroiled for months in an unusually public feud with its label, Hybe. Hybe is also home to BTS.
But when Hanni, whose real name is Pham Ngoc Han, took the stand to talk about workplace harassment, she spoke at length only about an incident that she had already detailed in public a few weeks ago.
She recalled that a Hybe employee who manages a different K-pop group had once told members of that group to “ignore” Ms. Pham.
“I was told that because there wasn’t any evidence, there was nothing that could be done,” Ms. Pham said, adding that she had endured multiple such episodes and felt disrespected by the company’s leaders.
Kim Ju-young, the chief executive of Ador, the Hybe subsidiary that Ms. Pham works for, said at the hearing that she had looked into the incident but could not come to a conclusion, as accounts of what happened differed.
The Environment and Labor Committee of the National Assembly, South Korea’s unicameral legislature, is studying working conditions in the country’s entertainment industry. Many performers are not covered by the country’s labor laws. During the hearing, An Ho-young, the head of the panel, said lawmakers need to ensure that entertainers’ rights are protected.
The K-pop industry has long been known for its regimented and sometimes extreme training systems. Some bands like Omega X have made headlines for being abused by management. Others have come forward to say they were forced to work under unfair contracts.
The dispute between Hybe and NewJeans is centered on the girl group’s executive producer, Min Hee-Jin. Earlier this year, Hybe replaced Ms. Min with Ms. Kim as the chief executive of Ador.
Both Ms. Min and NewJeans shocked the industry by airing their grievances publicly, with the band demanding that Hybe reinstate Ms. Min as chief of Ador by Sept. 25. That deadline passed more than two weeks ago and the group has not indicated any plans to part ways with the label.
Jin Yu Young reports on South Korea, the Asia Pacific region and global breaking news from Seoul. More about Jin Yu Young
