Police Launch Investigation into Ador over Suspected Leak of Hanni's Visa Information

The police have launched a full-scale investigation after summoning the complainant in relation to suspicions that Ador, the agency of girl group NewJeans, leaked the visa information of its Vietnamese-Australian member Hanni.

According to legal circles on the 10th, attorney Park Kanghoon of Law Office Kang Sung, the legal representative for pop culture critic Kim Sungsoo, appeared at the Seoul Yongsan Police Station on this day to be questioned as the complainant. Critic Kim filed a complaint against Ador and related executives and employees on July 28 for allegedly violating the Personal Information Protection Act.

Kim's side argued that Ador and others leaked Hanni's personal information—including her Entertainment (E-6) visa type and expiration date, as well as the progress of her visa extension application documents—to the media during a dispute over her exclusive contract. It was reported that in the police investigation, questions focused on whether the visa type and expiration date constitute information protected under the Personal Information Protection Act.

During the investigation, attorney Park insisted, "The Personal Information Protection Act does not only protect information that cannot be obtained by any means," adding, "If information pertaining to the intimate domain of an individual is disclosed through unauthorized channels, this fulfills the requirements for a legal violation." He also alleged that only a very small number of executives or employees at Ador provided such internal information to certain reporters, as evidenced by multiple entertainment media outlets reporting on the progress of Hanni's visa extension documents and procedures.

Attorney Park said, "The agency was supposed to manage immigration status, which is as crucial as a lifeline for foreign nationals, but instead used it as leverage," adding, "It must be revealed whose hands the information passed through before reaching the media." He further confirmed that around 1,000 petitions written by citizens and fans, requesting severe punishment for Ador, were submitted to the police.

Previously, Hanni declared the termination of her exclusive contract with Ador due to the agency's failure to fulfill its obligations, and her existing visa subsequently expired amid the dispute. In February of last year, some entertainment media outlets reported that if Hanni were to leave Ador and be left without an agency, she might fail to meet visa issuance requirements and become an illegal resident.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.