The forum, held on Sep 30th at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building in Yeouido-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, was attended by lawmakers Lee Gi-heon, Kim Joon-hyuk, Park Soo-hyun, Im Mi-ae and Jang Cheol-min.
Kim Young-min, the head of the Hanbit Media Labor Rights Center, moderated the forum under the theme “Idols in the National Assembly: Labor and Rights of Children and Youths Behind K-pop Success”. The event featured actual field experiences and experts’ opinions.
Former idols like Bang Min-su (formerly of Teen Top), Noh Hye-ran (formerly of Brave Girls) and Heo Yu-jeong (formerly of Bob Girls) shared the challenges they faced during their careers in the idol industry.
Attorney Noh Jong-eon from the law firm Jonjae, who participated as an individual panelist, mentioned the recent case where NewJeans officially requested HYBE and ADOR to reinstate Min Hee-jin as CEO.
Noh explained, “Under exclusive contracts, idols are not typically considered employees but rather part of a unique partnership. However, due to the hierarchical power dynamic and the control agencies exert over idols, they also exhibit characteristics of employees.“
He continued by questioning whether idols’ opinions should be entirely subject to unilateral decisions based on contract terms, referencing the recent NewJeans case.
Noh emphasized the need for a minimum guarantee of dignity for idols, stating, “It is time to critically assess whether artists’ activities should be entirely dependent on their agencies’ decisions.“
Separately, the allegations of discrimination within HYBE against NewJeans will be addressed in the upcoming national audit.
During a plenary session on Sep 30th, the National Assembly’s Environment and Labor Committee confirmed 35 witnesses and references, including NewJeans’ Hanni and ADOR CEO Kim Joo-young.
As part of the comprehensive national audit scheduled for Oct 25th, Hanni will be called as a reference to discuss issues of idol bullying and workplace harassment, while CEO Kim will be called as a witness.
Source: Daum
