Amidst the ongoing legal feud between NJZ (NewJeans) and ADOR, the group’s only foreign member, Hanni‘s future in the Korean entertainment industry has been especially the subject of speculation over a visa issue.
Hanni, a dual citizen of Australia and Vietnam, was staying and working in South Korea with an E-6 visa, which reportedly expired in January this year. She needed to be hired by an employer to extend her visa, but the entirety of her group had already announced their contract termination with ADOR in November 2024. ADOR claimed the termination was unlawful and filed a lawsuit against the members, which is still ongoing. Until the dust settled on it, Hanni couldn’t sign with any new agency. Hence, her visa extension has been a subject of heated discussion for the past few months.
Recently, ADOR claimed Hanni refused to sign the documents they had filed to extend her visa. In response, her parents released a statement informing the public that she had already obtained a visa on February 11, KST.
Hanni has already legally obtained a new visa yesterday (February 11) through the proper procedures.
ADOR pressured both Hanni and her parents by exploiting the sensitive issue of visas, which is a major concern for foreign residents in Korea. They demanded that she sign an extension agreement listing ADOR as her agency and sent emails warning that refusing to sign could result in illegal residency. Furthermore, they submitted personal documents requiring her signature to relevant establishments without her consent and only informed her afterward. These actions are incomprehensible by common standards.
— NJZ’s Parents
It turns out that Hanni received assistance from Democratic Party lawmaker Park Ji Won in obtaining this visa. Rep. Park himself shared the information in a blog post on February 12, KST, after he brought up the issue at a plenary session of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee.
This morning, at the Judiciary Committee, we questioned Acting Minister of Justice Kim Seok Woo, and I would like to thank the Director-General of Immigration at the Ministry of Justice for swiftly processing and issuing the visa.
— Representative Park Ji Won
The post backfired on Rep. Park, bringing him a wave of intense criticism from netizens. Many fiercely rebuked the lawmaker for meddling in issues that were not appropriate for the National Assembly and for backing up a foreign celebrity currently accused of contract violation.
Despite receiving hundreds of criticizing comments on this issue, so far, neither of the parties has addressed this swiftly growing controversy.
Stay tuned for more updates,
Source: Korea Herald Biz
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