Thats why it took immense courage to speak out."
‘But the members shared their shock upon hearing thatADORplanned to attend their Hong Kong performance.
“We were really shocked.
We had expressed how painful everything had been and clearly said we couldnt work with them anymore.
Hearing they were coming without discussing it with us felt like history repeating itself,“said one member.
Minjiadded,“We suffered a great deal emotionally.
Going back to that company and facing all that again would be cruel.”
We just wanted to do what we love properly.
But lies and misunderstandings keep getting in the way.”
As part of a workplace harassment investigation,Hannitestified during a National Assembly hearing in October.
On why she chose to speak, she said,“It couldve been easily dismissed.
She added,“This isnt just about us.
Its about every employee deserving respect in their working environment.
I thought this could be a step toward meaningful change.”
In court,ADORpresented CCTV footage and messages exchanged betweenHanniand former CEOMin Hee Jinas evidence there was no harassment.
They did not answer when asked by theBBCwhether they had verified the context ofHannis messages.
“People assume that were too young to decide for ourselves.
But being young doesnt mean we take things any less seriously or think less deeply.
We had thorough discussions, and all five of us were on the same page.
Thats why we could do this.”
We couldnt just let the essence of the issue be blurred and our words distorted.”
Minjiadmitted that while they have spoken out boldly, they have been far from fearless.
“Of course we were scared.
From the moment we held the press conference, we knew judgments would come raining down on us.
Were fully aware of the responsibility that comes with every word and action.”
But they felt speaking out was the only way to protect their future and continue doing what they love.
Hyeinechoed this, saying,“This is about our lives.
Of course we had to step up ourselves.”
On March 12,Hyeindescribed the past year as feeling like"shooting a documentary day by day.
Im slowly getting better.”
Danielleadmitted she initially tried to stay silent and push through.
But looking back, that only made things harder."
Hanniconfessed to being afraid of not being able to work again.
“Thats the one thing I really want to avoid.”
She added that another fear was"losing myself."
“If I lose myself, everything will fall apart.
But I havent lost who I ambecause I have my members and my family beside me.”
TheNJZ (NewJeans)members say that this experience has brought them even closer together.
Honestly, not every choice we made was perfect.
We dont know everything, and we cant solve everything.
But what matters is that weve always tried our best."
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