NewJeans’ Hanni wins court case against two commenters over abusive remarks

NewJeans member Hanni has been awarded damages after a South Korean court found two online commenters liable for insulting and abusive remarks about her following her testimony at the National Assembly. — Picture from Instagram/njz.hannipham

By Malay Mail

First Published: Friday, 02 Oct 2026 5:31 PM MYT

SEOUL, Oct 2 — NewJeans member Hanni has won damages from two online commenters who posted insulting and abusive remarks about her.

The Seoul Western District Court ordered the two defendants in July to pay the K-pop star 100,000 won (RM281) each, about a year and four months after she filed the civil lawsuit, South Korean news site Korea JoongAng Daily reported, citing legal sources.

The comments were posted on an article about Hanni’s appearance at South Korea’s National Assembly on October 15, 2024, where she testified about her alleged experience of workplace harassment.

One commenter called her an Australian who was pretending to be a victim, while another accused her of conspiring with someone to make more money.

Hanni had told a parliamentary audit that a manager of girl group ILLIT allegedly instructed others to “ignore her”.

“If we respected each other as human beings, things like this wouldn’t happen,” she was quoted as saying.

The court said criticism of another person was not in itself unlawful, but ruled that the comments contained insulting and contemptuous language that warranted compensation for Hanni’s emotional distress.

It also rejected one defendant’s argument that the comments did not violate generally accepted social norms.

Hanni’s workplace harassment complaint was separately closed by the western district branch of the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Office in November 2024, which said it was difficult to consider her an “employee” covered by South Korea’s Labor Standards Act.

She had previously reached a separate settlement with another online commenter last year after pursuing an insult case against the person.

The lawsuit came amid a wider dispute between NewJeans and Ador following the removal of former Ador chief executive Min Hee-jin by parent company Hybe in 2024.

The group later sought to terminate its exclusive contracts with Ador, but a Seoul court ruled that the contracts remained valid, with Hanni, Haerin, Hyein and Minji subsequently returning to the agency while Danielle’s contract was terminated.