Why K-pop star Hanni made an emotional appeal to South Korea’s parliament

K-pop star Hanni, a member of the group NewJeans, made an emotional appeal on Tuesday for young artists to be treated better in the multi-billion dollar industry, as she relayed her experience of workplace bullying during a parliamentary hearing.

For years the K-pop industry has been dogged by complaints of high pressure and bullying, sparking calls for companies to protect their artists better.

“I hope trainees don’t suffer these incidents and that’s why I decided to appear,” the 20-year-old Vietnamese Australian singer said during the televised parliamentary audit.

Her testimony in South Korea’s parliament is a rare appearance by a major K-pop star to address bullying in the industry.

“I know it’s not going to solve all the problems in the world, but if we just respect each other, at least there will be no problems with bullying and harassment in the workplace,” Hanni said, choking back tears at times.

The group itself has been caught in the middle of a clash between executives of its parent powerhouse label HYBE and the former CEO of its subsidiary Ador, which manages NewJeans.

The singer, whose full name is Hanni Pham, recounted to parliament’s labour committee how she had heard a manager telling staff to ignore and pretend not to see the group when she bumped into them in a corridor.

A series of actions at the workplace made the group feel they were hated by the company, she said.

Ador CEO Kim Ju-young told the parliamentary hearing that she was reviewing the situation but has yet to find proof to establish Hanni’s claims.

HYBE has multiple labels that manage some of the biggest K-pop stars, including BTS.

Earlier this year, former Ador CEO Min Hee-jin credited with creating NewJeans accused HYBE of sabotaging the girl group. She was later ousted from the label’s CEO position.

K-pop idols are often held to impossibly high standards for their behaviour and face expectations to maintain a squeaky-clean public image, including pressure from some fans not to have partners.

—Hyunsu Yim, Reuters