On October 6, several mothers of NewJeans members shared in an interview that Kim Joo-young, the CEO of ADOR, said the CCTV footage related to Hanni’s bullying has disappeared. They argued, “How can it be that only the video of Hanni greeting members of another group remains, while the video containing the problematic ‘ignore’ remark has been deleted?”
Previously, Hanni disclosed during a live broadcast on November 11 that while waiting in a HYBE corridor, she greeted another artist, but when she saw them again, her manager instructed them to “ignore” her, which shocked many. Consequently, the National Assembly’s Environment and Labor Committee chose ADOR CEO Kim Joo-young and Hanni as witnesses for the audit on issues of “idol bullying and workplace harassment”.
The mother of one NewJeans member explained, “Initially, Hanni’s mother first talked about this issue with the other members’ mothers around the end of May. She was very upset and worried after hearing about this. The ADOR board had completely changed at that time. Since it was an issue with another label, it was realistically difficult for former CEO Min Hee-jin to resolve the situation as she was isolated on the board. Nevertheless, we were actively protesting. Therefore, we requested the newly appointed CEO Kim Joo-young and the changed ADOR board to prevent such incidents from happening again. However, they only delayed time and eventually returned with the answer that the key footage in question had been deleted.”
Another NewJeans member’s mother stated, “It’s been 4 months since the incident, and although we raised the issue in June, there’s been no resolution. Only now are they saying they’ll check the CCTV.” She added, “Wouldn’t it be better to meet with Hanni directly? Why prolong this? In the end, we were told no such video exists.”
Another mother remarked, “Several odd things happened. We raised the issue immediately after the incident, and there’s email proof of that. Yet, we were told the CCTV footage was deleted after 30 days, and when we requested recovery, they claimed it was technically difficult. Strangely, not all footage from the incident date was gone; they only showed us an 8-second clip of Hanni greeting other artists, insisting all other footage had been deleted. Why would only the non-problematic scenes remain?”.
Regarding this situation, another NewJeans member’s mother commented, “So when I asked why they only deleted that scene, they said it was deleted by someone who had resigned, and they had no idea why. The security team blamed their superior for giving work orders, while the superior blamed the person who left.”
The mother of a NewJeans member shared, “When Kim Joo-young mentioned that the CCTV footage had no sound, I replied, ‘Even without sound, can’t you grasp the atmosphere and gestures?’ I then asked, ‘Why not let us view the full footage from that day?’ They claimed to have searched a month’s worth of footage, which I found absurd. I insisted that a big corporation should keep records, and they eventually emailed the materials on September 25, but I was shocked by their content.”
The mother stated, “They showed us Slack messages with instructions, but the request process seemed odd. If this involves subsidiary labels, shouldn’t HYBE stay neutral in the investigation? They were seeking related materials from Belift Lab.” She added, “The request for the CCTV footage should have come directly from ADOR to the security team or the workplace harassment department within HYBE. Why did the ADOR board ask Belift Lab to find it? This raises more suspicions. Additionally, in the Slack exchanges, a security officer mentioned finding footage of the greeting scene, to which Belift Lab replied, ‘That’s a relief.’ I don’t understand the intention behind sharing that message.”
The member’s mother stated, “This is akin to asking the perpetrator to find the evidence. When we suggested forensic recovery, they said it couldn’t be done due to technical issues. How can we believe this?”
The member’s mother stated, “During the meeting on the 23rd, Hanni told CEO Kim Joo-young, ‘You said only the victim can verify it, but when I went to check the CCTV, the security officers wouldn’t meet my eyes and were fidgeting.’ In response, Kim Joo-young said, ‘Aren’t I looking straight at you?’ which was shocking. Earlier, she had told Hanni, ‘You should have spoken up sooner; the video was deleted after a month,’ despite Hanni raising the issue right away. This made her feel like she had done something wrong. During the meeting, Kim Joo-young suddenly started crying in front of the NewJeans members, which was shocking. For these inexperienced kids, such emotional behavior could make them feel guilty, especially as we discussed our experiences of being victimized.”
Another NewJeans member’s mother said, “During the meeting, I expressed concerns about unauthorized videos from the members’ trainee days leaking to the media. 2 days later, CEO Kim Joo-young replied that fans had reported the media criminally and suggested we wait for the results. In her clarification email, Kim Joo-young mentioned that the members could file a civil lawsuit for portrait rights infringement but warned that such actions could be viewed negatively. Without objective evidence of the leak, our chances of winning might be low. She noted that ADOR had sent documents to Source Music in August, but received no response. Since portrait rights violations don’t carry criminal penalties, if Source Music is acquitted, it could be used against us. They recommended waiting for the fans’ report results. I don’t understand why they say there are no criminal penalties yet tell us to wait for those reports. Despite this, they offered resources for the members to pursue a lawsuit if we choose to. This contradiction is baffling.”
Finally, the mothers of NewJeans members expressed, “Such issues typically occur in areas that others are unaware of, so I’m concerned that it will eventually be covered up as time passes. Because of this, we have significant worries about the children’s lives within HYBE.”
Source: Daum
