NewJeans member Hanni will testify before the National Assembly's Environment and Labor Committee on Oct. 25 regarding a workplace harassment allegation, according to a Phoning message she left on Wednesday.

“I’ve decided! I’m going to the National Assembly! For the National Assembly hearing! I’ll go alone,” she said on the fan communication platform. “Don’t worry. I’m doing this for myself, my members and for Bunnies [NewJeans' fandom]. I decided to go for Bunnies. I’m not afraid. I want to go.”


Hanni said she "thought long and hard" about her decision, according to the post.

"I'm uncertain about the outcome, but I believe this experience will be a valuable learning opportunity," she said.

ADOR CEO Kim Ju-young, who has also been summoned to testify, has yet to confirm her attendance.

On Sept. 11, the five members of NewJeans demanded in a YouTube livestream that HYBE reinstate Min Hee-jin as CEO of ADOR. During the livestream, Hanni alleged that she overheard a manager instructing other HYBE artists to "ignore" her.

Hanni explained the incident, stating, "I greeted a manager and artists from another group at the HYBE building, but the manager told them to ignore me. I still can't understand why I had to go through that."

NewJeans' members and their parents later requested that HYBE provide them with CCTV footage of the incident, but HYBE denied the allegations and claimed the footage had been deleted due to expired storage. The parents of the K-pop group then publicly accused HYBE and its label Belift Lab of erasing the footage to cover up its alleged mistreatment of Hanni in an interview with local news outlet Ilgan Sports on Oct. 6.

Both companies strongly denied intentionally deleting the CCTV footage. Belift Lab released a press statement the following day, calling the accusations "absurd" and demanding that attempts to defame its rookie girl group ILLIT cease.

NewJeans' parents countered these claims in a separate interview released on Thursday by Ilgan Sports, stating that they did not attempt to defame a specific group. They explained they tried to resolve the issue internally and did not publicly name any specific labels or artists.

Meanwhile, Bunnies announced on Wednesday that they would file an official complaint against ADOR CEO Kim and other related personnel at the Yongsan Police Precinct on Thursday. The charges include violations of the Information and Communications Network Act, defamation and the Act on the Prohibition of Bribery.

BY YOON SEUNG-JIN [yoon.seungjin@joongang.co.kr]