On March 7 KST, ADOR publicized alleged CCTV footage of ILLIT bowing to NJZ’s Hanni at the HYBE Labels building, as well as KakaoTalk messages of Hanni initially reporting the “ignore her” incident involving ILLIT’s manager.
Previously, Hanni claimed that she had experienced discrimination from ILLIT’s manager. Known as the “ignore her” incident, the event supposedly occurred on May 27, 2024, when Hanni encountered several ILLIT members at the HYBE Labels building. According to Hanni, ILLIT’s manager told the group members to “ignore her (Hanni)” just before crossing paths. The NJZ member then went on to problematize the incident as workplace harassment, even appearing as a witness at a National Assembly audit session to speak on the issue in October of last year.
To refute Hanni’s claims, ADOR’s side presented CCTV footage recorded at the HYBE building as new evidence during the ADOR vs. NJZ court hearing, held on March 7 KST. Upon the hearing’s conclusion, the label also distributed the footage to the press, arguing, “We have confirmed that 3 ILLIT members bowed 90 degrees to Hanni in the hallway.”
In addition to the CCTV footage, the label also revealed KakaoTalk messages exchanged between Hanni and former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin last year. According to ADOR, the messages prove that Hanni initially “did not wish for the issue to become a big deal” and that it was Min Hee Jin who “blew the matter up.”
The contents of the KakaoTalk messages are as follows:
[UPDATED with additionally released messages]
Hanni: I was in the fourth floor hallway, practicing by the elevator room!
Hanni: From there, 3 ILLIT members and a manager came out so I greeted them!!
Hanni: All 4 of them went into the styling room, and I stayed in the hallway!
Hanni: It was almost time to leave so
Hanni: But then… about 5-10 minutes later??..
Hanni: The 4 of them came out of the styling room. I heard them opening the door. And then the manager with them
Hanni: I heard them say just ignore her and walk past her.
Hanni: I can’t remember if those were the exact words but that was the general message.
Hanni: And then when they walked past me, the manager literally did not look at me. One of the members seemed unsure what to do and kept looking at the manager, responding, ‘Yes yes!’…
Min Hee Jin: At what point did you notice something off?
Hanni: When the manager said to ‘ignore her’…
Min Hee Jin: *Ignore her*
Min Hee Jin: That?
Hanni: It was just like… there’s no need to go that far
Hanni: But when I heard the manager say that, it really got to me personally
Min Hee Jin: They said that loud enough for you to hear it?
Min Hee Jin: Did all 4 of them ignore you?
Hanni: Yes… They said it while coming out from the door
Min Hee Jin: Did the ILLIT members ignore you?
Min Hee Jin: When you greeted them?
Min Hee Jin: The manager told them to not respond to your greeting?
Hanni: One member kind of half bowed and avoided my eyes, and the last member did bow, but they seemed anxious
Hanni: (In response to ‘The manager told them to not respond to your greeting?’) I’m not sure
Hanni: I definitely bowed to them!!
Hanni: See I totally understand why the girls would be uncomfortable and awkward when they see us because there’s been so much rivalry between our teams in the media and inside the company so I fully get that
Hanni: I wouldn’t say I felt offended.. Honestly more baffled
Hanni: It once again reminded me, wow, we are really in a company with these *nice* people
Hanni: But I’m not even bothered by them
Hanni: If you’re worried that this is bothering me, no need to worry!!
Following the disclosure of the above pieces of “evidence” by ADOR on March 7, Hanni expressed her frustration via Instagram Story, as shown below.
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