On October 15th, while NewJeans Hanni was attending the National Assembly’s Environment and Labor Committee audit as a witness, netizens’ attention was drawn to the NewJeans rabbit character, Bunnies, attached to the tablet PC of Democratic Party member Park Hong-bae, who was questioning her. The Bunnies that Park Hong-bae attached were wearing a blue jacket, the symbolic color of the Democratic Party, with the National Assembly in the background.
In the wake of this, after Hanni’s audit appearance, Hyein changed her profile picture on their fan communication platform – Phoning to a blue Bunnies, which drew attention. Some speculated that since blue is the symbolic color of the Democratic Party, she was “showing her political color”. As a result, there were criticisms that Hyein, who is a famous idol, shouldn’t show her stance as it may influence her fans.
In response, Hyein changed it to a black and white version, but as the controversy continued, she eventually replaced it with a different picture altogether.
Some netizens believed that Hyein, who is only 16 years old, didn’t change her profile to support a specific party. However, they noted that even small actions could cause conflict if associated with political aspects, suggesting that caution is necessary.
Meanwhile, on the same day, Hanni testified at the National Assembly audit as a witness regarding “idol bullying and workplace harassment”.
Hanni, who had previously revealed that she was told “Ignore her” by a manager from another label within HYBE, stated, “I came out today because I knew that if I didn’t appear here, this would quietly pass and be buried. This could happen to anyone in the future. I came out hoping that other seniors, juniors, my peers, or trainees currently in the industry won’t have to experience this kind of thing.”
ADOR CEO Kim Joo-young explained, “The manager (Hanni mentioned) belongs to a different company with a different CEO. Nevertheless, we requested confirmation from the artists and managers of that label to see if such an incident occurred. And unfortunately, we also checked if the CCTV footage, which had expired, could be restored, taking measures to the extent I could.”
Source: Naver