HYBE maintains ”best company” ranking amid NewJeans bullying controversy... Ministry of Labor: ”No violations”

South Korea's Ministry of Employment and Labor has deemed HYBE "clean" in the controversy over workplace bullying and the cover-up of industrial accidents, maintaining its best company certification.
On the 30th, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced that it had withdrawn the HYBE Best Company Selection Review Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Review Committee) held on the 27th.
The Labor Relations Committee announced that it had decided to maintain HYBE's designation as the best company. In order to revoke the designation, there must be a violation of labor laws or other objective circumstances that are equivalent to the designation.
However, the judging committee found that HYBE did not violate the law in terms of workplace bullying or unresolved industrial accident cases. In addition, regarding other cases such as power harassment of business partners,
Prior to this, in September, HYBE was selected as the "Best Company for Employment in Korea for 2024."
Every year, the Ministry of Labor selects 100 companies that have taken the lead in creating quality jobs and improving the working environment as the best companies. At the time of selection, the companies are given the integrated employment tax credit, immigration preferential card issuance, and regular tax exemption.
However, HANI of NewJeans revealed allegations of bullying within HYBE, and HYBE was removed from the Best Company Selection list.
Demands for the post to be taken down were flooded in. Furthermore, suspicions of death from overwork among HYBE employees were raised during a parliamentary audit by the National Assembly's Environment and Labor Committee, further raising the issue.
The Ministry of Employment subsequently ruled that HANI was not a worker under the Labor Standards Act and that there was no violation of the law regarding the allegations of workplace bullying.
The Labor Ministry also investigated whether HYBE violated the Industrial Safety and Health Act and concluded that "since no industrial accident claim has been filed with the Korea Labor Welfare Service, it is not possible to confirm whether the illness is work-related or not.
"In light of this, we have concluded that it is difficult to see this as a violation of the law," the company said. Meanwhile, according to the selection criteria for the best companies, companies that have caused social controversy, been reported in the media, or have been the subject of lawsuits or petitions are not eligible for the award.
However, if controversy arises due to a lawsuit or other reasons, or if there are violations of the Labor Standards Act or Industrial Safety and Health Act, the Ministry of Employment and Labor will withdraw the selection.
A review committee was held and the decision was made to maintain the company's status as the best company.