Police have launched a full investigation, questioning the complainant over allegations that NewJeans member Hanni's visa information was leaked to the media.
On the 10th, Yongsan Police Station in Seoul summoned cultural critic Kim Seong-su's side, which had filed a complaint accusing ADOR and its affiliated executives and employees of violating the Personal Information Protection Act, and questioned them. Attorney Park Kang-hoon of Kangseong Law Office, Kim's legal representative, appeared before police.
During the questioning that day, police were said to have asked whether the type of Hanni's visa and its expiration date fall under information protected by the Personal Information Protection Act.
In the interview, Attorney Park said, "The Personal Information Protection Act does not protect only information that cannot be verified by any means," and argued, "If information belonging to an individual's intimate sphere was disclosed outside a legitimate channel, it satisfies the elements of a legal violation."
The process by which internal information—such as Hanni's visa extension application documents and the status of related procedures—was reported through multiple entertainment outlets is also under investigation. Park additionally raised a claim to the effect that a very small number of ADOR executives and employees provided that information to certain reporters.
Park said, "The agency should have managed the immigration status—akin to a lifeline—for a foreign national on their behalf, but used it as a weapon," adding, "It must be determined through whose hands that information was passed to the media."
During the police inquiry, officers were also said to have reviewed more than 1,000 petitions submitted by citizens and fans urging stern punishment for ADOR.
Earlier, on the 28th, Kim filed a complaint with Yongsan Police Station accusing ADOR and its affiliated executives and employees of violating the Personal Information Protection Act. Kim claims that, during its contractual dispute with Hanni, ADOR provided the media with information such as the type and expiration date of Hanni's arts and entertainment (E-6) visa, as well as the status of her visa extension application.
Hanni, a Vietnamese Australian, has been active in Korea on an E-6 visa. In February last year, when Hanni declared the termination of her exclusive contract citing ADOR's alleged failure to fulfill obligations and a dispute ensued, some entertainment outlets reported to the effect that if Hanni left ADOR, she might fail to meet the requirements for visa issuance and could become an undocumented resident.
The controversy subsided after it became known that Hanni had been issued a new visa.