On July 28, cultural critic Kim Sung Soo held a press conference in front of the Yongsan Police Department (Seoul, South Korea), announcing that he had filed a complaint against ADOR and some company leaders and employees with accusations of violating the Law on Protection of Personal Information related to the handling of visa information of Hanni, a member of the Australian-born NewJeans group.
According to Mr. Kim, the personnel in charge of Hanni's residency status at ADOR may have disclosed personal information they accessed during their work. He believes that these data are not only released outside the internal scope but are also likely to be provided to a third party not for the original purpose when collecting.
In the complaint, Mr. Kim mentioned information related to Hanni's residency records that ADOR is said to hold, including the art-performance visa (E-6), residency period, process of preparing applications for renewal and whether the female singer signed related documents or not.
The cultural critic argues that this information later appeared in many media articles from December 2024 to February 2025, with sources described as people in the music industry. He questioned how personal data, which was mainly accessed by Hanni and personnel directly handling the file, was transferred to the outside.
In particular, Mr. Kim emphasized the information posted on February 11, 2025 about the preparation of visa renewal documents and Hanni's failure to sign the documents. According to him, these are details that are difficult for people who are not directly involved in the processing of procedures at the company to know. Therefore, he requested the police to identify the source of initial information as well as the process of data being transmitted to the media agencies.
The incident attracted attention in the context of NewJeans and ADOR having disputes related to the management and operation rights of the group. Previously, Hanni's visa issue had become a topic of debate when much information about the female singer's residence status was spread on social networks.
On February 12, 2025, parents of NewJeans members spoke out about the dense appearance of personal information related to Hanni's visa in the media. They said that in a short time there were about 70 articles mentioning the visa type and length of stay of the female singer, and also said that many contents were speculative and affected her privacy.
Previously, some information suggested that if Hanni leaves ADOR during a contract dispute, the female singer may have difficulty maintaining an E-6 visa because there is no longer a management company to support the necessary procedures. This has made the female singer's residence status a widely discussed topic.
After that, some individuals were said to have sent a report to Hanni to the South Korean Ministry of Justice, questioning her ability to become an illegal resident if she does not meet visa-related conditions. However, the spread of information about the female singer's personal residence record also caused much controversy, as many opinions suggested that the artist's privacy needs to be protected.
ADOR has not yet issued an official response to Mr. Kim Sung Soo's complaint. South Korean authorities will consider whether there are signs of violating personal information protection regulations, and clarify the origin of information related to Hanni's visa that has appeared in the media.
