[Desk Column] Big Hit's Hani's Attendance at the National Assembly Inspection is a bit Strange
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2024.10.17. 8:46 AM
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2024.10.17. 8:57 AM
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New Jeans member Hani is answering questions from lawmakers as a witness at the state audit of the Economic, Social, and Labor Committee, the Central Labor Committee, and the Minimum Wage Committee held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the afternoon of the 15th. Courtesy of the National Assembly Photographers' Association (Newsis) |
The National Assembly Environment and Labor Committee conducted a state audit of the Central Labor Committee on the 15th. On that day, regarding the controversy over workplace bullying and ostracism in the entertainment industry, it summoned Hani (real name Hanipam), a member of the girl group New Jeans, and Kim Joo-young, the CEO of Adore and the Chief Human Resources Officer of Hive. Initially, it seemed difficult for Hani to attend, but the person in question accepted, creating an unusual situation. Hani
had been claiming that she had been ignored by another label affiliated with Hive. She said that the manager of a girl group affiliated with another label under Hive had told her to “pretend not to see me and ignore me,” and that she had been bullied. As the issue grew, the Environment and Labor Committee adopted Hani and CEO Kim Joo-young as witnesses and references. It was intended to hear the parties’ stories regarding idol bullying and poor responses to it.
Hani, a Vietnamese-Australian citizen, is not perfect in Korean, but she made direct remarks to CEO Kim Joo-young, who was on the podium next to her.
Hani poured out her feelings, saying, “I’ve met many high-ranking officials since my debut, but they never greeted me,” “There was a certain atmosphere I felt within the company,” “I thought it was just my personal thoughts and feelings, but I saw company employees badmouthing New Jeans on an app called Blind. I also heard a recording of a manager from the PR team trying to belittle our Japanese debut performance,” and “I became convinced that the company dislikes us.”
When CEO Kim Joo-young explained, “We took measures to the extent that we could,” Hani directly responded, “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I did my best. I don’t have the will to fight or take any measures, so I don’t think I can say I did my best.” In her final statement, she choked up, saying, “I know that the law can’t solve all the problems in this world, but I think that if we respect each other as human beings, at least there won’t be any problems with bullying and ostracism in the workplace.” After the
hour-long Q&A session, Hani seemed relieved. Hani's appearance at this state audit can be meaningful in that it can be a starting point for publicizing the unreasonable problems that have piled up in the industry between artists and their agencies and resolving them one by one. It is certainly another step toward the development of K-pop.
However, a fundamental question arises. 'Are celebrities really workers?' Also, 'Do they not have the position and opinion of the other party's manager?'
The Environment and Labor Committee is an organization that performs duties such as reviewing bills such as laws and petitions related to matters under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Employment and Labor, and other state audits and investigations, preliminary reviews of budget and settlement bills. If so, shouldn't the selection of references and witnesses related to the Ministry of Employment and Labor during the Environment and Labor Committee state audit be targeted at workers who are actually fighting for their right to survive?
According to the Labor Standards Act, a worker is someone who provides labor for the purpose of receiving wages. In particular, the actual relationship between the employer and the worker in terms of labor provision and wage payment must be subordinate. In the case of celebrities, there are conflicting interpretations of their status as workers, but the legal community has concluded that celebrities do not fall under this category because they have management and income distribution contracts with their agencies and cannot be considered subordinate workers.
Ultimately, the Environment and Labor Commission cannot escape the view that it summoned Hani as a witness to take advantage of the issue. If we look at it objectively, even if there are suspicions of workplace bullying, is it right to summon a foreign member of a girl group that has already achieved great success as a global idol to the Environment and Labor Commission’s state audit and conduct a Q&A session? Furthermore, the members of New Jeans are stars who have become a hot topic because they are estimated to have received over 5 billion won in settlement money per person in just two years since their debut.
During the audit, People Power Party lawmaker Kim Hyung-dong did not properly recognize Hani’s name, and Democratic Party lawmaker Park Hong-bae put a sticker of New Jeans’ fan club, Bernies, on his laptop. They even attempted to politicize the issue by raising suspicions that Hive's selection as the 'Best Job Creation Company' was due to its relationship with President Yoon Seok-yeol's wife, Kim Kun-hee. In the case of Choi Min-hee, the chairwoman of the Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting and Communications Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea, there was controversy when she was filmed with her cell phone as Hani entered the National Assembly. Jeong In-seop, the president of Hanwha Ocean's Geoje plant, who was selected as a witness in relation to the worker's death and appeared at the National Assembly inspection, took a selfie with Hani sitting behind him and was embarrassed nationwide.
It is impossible to erase the feeling that Hani was used for the 'National Assembly inspection show'. In order to be sincere, shouldn't they have tried to make an objective judgment by asking for the opinion of the manager who made the "ignored" comment? If Hani made a mistake, how on earth did that manager feel? The manager, who was actually an ordinary worker, was missing from the National Assembly inspection of the Environment and Labor Committee. It felt like watching SNL Korea.
Kwon Ki-beom, head of the Entertainment and Culture Department
Reporter Kwon Ki-beom
polestar174@sportsworldi.com
m.entertain.naver.com