Hanwha Ocean CEO in hot water after smiling selfie with NewJeans’ Hanni during employee death hearing

Jung In-sub, Hanwha Ocean’s head of Geoje shipyard, front, takes a selfie with Hanni of NewJeans as he waits to testify at a National Assembly audit in western Seoul on Tuesday. (NEWS1)

Hanwha Ocean apologized for the “highly inappropriate” behavior of a company executive who took a selfie with Hanni of NewJeans in the National Assembly on Tuesday while attending a hearing into the deaths of employees.

Jung In-sub, head of Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje shipyard, was caught grinning on camera as he took a selfie with Hanni, who sat behind him, as he waited to testify during the audit.

The director attended the hearing as a witness on the deaths of workers in industrial accidents in domestic shipyards.
Hanni appeared as a witness to testify about the workplace harassment allegations she made against HYBE last month.

“We deeply apologize to the public, the National Assembly and the relatives for the inappropriate behavior of our executive branch,” the shipbuilder said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon. “The actions of our director, who attended the National Assembly audit as a witness over a traffic accident at the factory, were highly inappropriate.”

Democratic Party Rep. Choi Min-hee, third from left, films Hanni as she enters the National Assembly building on Tuesday. (NEWS1)

A K-pop star’s appearance in the National Assembly is rare and Jung was not alone in his excitement. Another lawmaker was also caught trying to meet Hanni separately while she waited to testify.

Democratic Party Representative Choi Min-hee filmed Hanni as she entered the National Assembly building and was later criticized for trying to meet the K-pop star privately.

BY LEE JAE-LIM ([email protected])