NewJeans Manager’s “Illegal Confinement” Claim, Ministry of Employment and Labor Again Concludes “No Charges”
According to Chosun Biz on Feb 24th, the Seoul Regional Employment Labor Office under the Ministry of Employment and Labor recently concluded its investigation into the case filed by former ADOR employee A against CEO Kim Joo-young, finding no evidence of wrongdoing and administratively closing the case. The reason given was that the submitted materials alone were insufficient to determine whether workplace harassment had occurred.
A claimed that in December last year, ADOR lured them under the guise of work discussions, then presented a standby order, demanding the immediate return of a laptop from their home. Despite A requesting to leave work, they were allegedly illegally confined for approximately three hours and forced to submit their personal cell phone without any legal basis. Based on these claims, A submitted a petition to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, accusing CEO Kim of workplace harassment.
NewJeans members also released a statement, saying, “We witnessed managers and performance directors who help with our schedules being harassed, such as having their laptops confiscated and being subjected to unannounced investigations, and we saw them crying.” They further criticized HYBE, stating, “It’s distressing to think that the victims of this incomprehensible, unethical and inhumane company won’t end with us.”
In response, ADOR stated at the time, “An employee in charge of the artist’s management directly contacted a sponsor, bypassing the company, and urged them to sign a contract directly between the artist and the brand.” They added, “The manager in question admitted to this communication. This is a serious act of breach of trust that aids in violating the artist’s exclusive contract.“
They also explained, “Inevitably, we placed the employee on standby and demanded the return of the company’s asset, the laptop. There was no coercion, such as illegal confinement, in this process. The company made several requests for interviews to give the manager an opportunity to explain, but the employee refused all of them.”
Meanwhile, a petition filed through the National Petition Platform requesting an investigation into workplace bullying of NewJeans’ Hanni was also closed. The authorities determined that it is difficult to consider Hanni as a worker under the Labor Standards Act. The reason is that, in artist management, the relationship is one of equal contractual parties fulfilling respective obligations rather than a traditional employer-employee dynamic.
