NewJeans’ Minji and Danielle expressed pride in Hanni’s appearance at the National Assembly, highlighting their strong friendship.
On October 18, NewJeans’ Minji and Hanni held a live broadcast on NewJeans’ official fan communication platform, Weverse.
During the broadcast, Minji shared, “I could only catch the part where Hanni spoke at the National Assembly. I had another schedule afterward,” adding, “As soon as it was over, I looked it up and found about 100 pictures of Hanni crying,” which drew attention.
In response, Hanni joked, “Who took those photos? Let’s talk for a bit,” eliciting laughter.
Minji expressed her affection and pride for Hanni, “In my heart, I was shouting ‘That’s my girl!’”
Meanwhile, Danielle revealed that she ran to hug Hanni, who returned to the dorm in tears, saying, “Our amazing unnie. I was nervous the whole time watching from start to finish.”
Earlier, Hanni attended the National Assembly audit on October 15 as a witness for the Environment and Labor Committee and the Economic and Social Labor Committee, where ADOR’s CEO Kim Joo-young also appeared as a witness.
Hanni recounted experiencing bullying within HYBE, stating, “The manager of another group made eye contact with me and told the members following behind to ‘pretend not to see and ignore her.’ I don’t understand why I had to go through this. This wasn’t a one-time issue.”
She added, “I knew that if I didn’t come out today, it would be quietly brushed aside. This is something anyone could face. I hope that whether they are seniors, juniors, or even trainees, they won’t have to go through such experiences,” explaining her reason for attending as a witness.
In her final statement, Hanni tearfully thanked the lawmakers, “Today’s meeting addresses workplace bullying and ostracism. Through my experiences, I’ve realized that laws can’t solve all the world’s problems. However, if we respect each other as human beings, there shouldn’t be workplace bullying or ostracism.”
She continued, “I hope that seniors, peers, juniors, and trainees won’t have to worry about these things. I’ve seen so many people who care about us, and I’m truly grateful,” as she shed tears.
Meanwhile, on Oct 15th, Hanni appeared as a reference at the National Assembly’s Environment and Labor Committee hearing. She testified about being subjected to workplace bullying.
Regarding the comment made by a HYBE-affiliated label manager to “ignore her”, Hanni said, “Not just that incident, but since the early days of our debut, whenever I greeted senior officials, they never once acknowledged me. I learned growing up in Korea that you should be respectful to elders, but when they didn’t greet me back, I thought it was disrespectful as a person. Only those who have experienced it can understand.“
After the hearing, Hanni expressed her feelings to fans, “Thank you so much. Bunnies, you worked hard. I’m so grateful, and I don’t want to cry either. I can’t stop the tears. I’m just really, really thankful.“
Source: Daum