The K-Pop world is keenly watching ADOR, the agency behind rising stars NewJeans, as it maintains public silence regarding the serious investigation into whether its staff leaked member Hanni’s personal information. Yet, despite the lack of an official statement, the company has seemingly offered a private response concerning its stance.
Cultural critic Kim Seong Su initiated a criminal complaint against ADOR and its employees in July. The complaint alleges that the agency violated South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Act by releasing Hanni’s sensitive visa details to the media, including her visa type, expiration date, and contract status.
Adding to the pressure, a NewJeans fan and X (formerly Twitter) user independently filed their own civil complaint with the Personal Information Protection Commission. On August 16, even without any recent public communication from ADOR on the issue, the agency seemingly responded directly to this specific complaint.
We understand your complaint to be a request to verify whether ADOR complied with its obligation to notify of a personal information leak and whether measures were taken to prevent leaks…
Our Commission reviewed the facts regarding the matters raised in your complaint, including requesting explanations from representatives of ADOR (hereinafter, the “reported party”).
— Personal Information Protection Commission of South Korea
This private communication from ADOR, as revealed by the Commission’s response, states that the company denies leaking Hanni’s information. Furthermore, ADOR claims it is currently “taking measures” to prevent any future leaks, which reportedly includes 24/7 monitoring.
The reported party responded that the personal information of the data subject (Hanni) mentioned by the complainant was not leaked from the reported party.
The reported party also responded that, in order to prevent users’ personal information from being leaked or damaged through hacking and similar means, it is taking measures to ensure the security of personal information, including monitoring 24 hours a day through intrusion-blocking systems.
— Personal Information Protection Commission of South Korea
Unsurprisingly, this quiet denial has sparked a backlash from fans. The user who filed the civil complaint, in particular, highlighted ADOR’s failure to issue any official public statement confirming cooperation with the investigation or its intention to assist police in identifying the alleged leaker.
정말로 본인들이 떳떳하고 아티스트를 아끼는 소속사라면, 오히려 이를 기회로 삼아서 경찰조사에 성실히 임하고 유출 출처를 밝히기 위해 노력하겠다는 등 진작에 공식 입장문을 냈지 않을까요?
개인정보 보호위원회 앞에서는 저렇게 당당한데 왜 대외적으로는 아직까지도 아무런 입장도 없는걸까요?
— 히터펑순기⁵ (@kmj3106321) August 16, 2026
If they were truly a company with nothing to hide and genuinely cared about their artists, wouldn’t they have taken this as an opportunity and issued an official statement long ago saying they would fully cooperate with the police investigation and work to identify the source of the leak?
They’re so confident when responding to the Personal Information Protection Commission, so why have they still not made any public statement at all?
— @kmj3106321on X
The gravity of the situation is underscored by NewJeans’ parents’ prior revelation that approximately 70 articles detailing Hanni’s visa information emerged within just two days last February. This concerning detail has been cited as key evidence in Kim Seong Su’s criminal complaint against the agency. Should it be proven that an ADOR employee was responsible for leaking the information to the press, those found guilty could face severe penalties, including up to five years in prison or a substantial fine of about ₩50.0 million KRW (approximately $35,300 USD).
