LE SSERAFIM’s Kim Garam has been caught in hot waters as more and more alleged victims come forward talking about her bullying allegations! LE SSERAFIM had already been in the spotlight as it was HYBE’s upcoming girl group after their failure with GLAM. The company has been known for its bad luck with girl groups, with members getting caught in scandals. LE SSERAFIM had also gained more popularity because of two of its members who had previously belonged to the mega-popular girl group IZ*ONE, Sakura and Chaewon. Even Kazuha and Yunjin were famous outside of the group too.
Kazuha was a renowned dancer and has caught the attention of netizens for having visuals like the likes of Bae Suzy. As for Yunjin, she was a contestant in Produce 48 and had gained attention for her charisma. Eunchae and Garam were the only ones who had not been exposed to the public before their debut. As soon as it was announced that Kim Garam was in HYBE’s upcoming girl group, her bullying allegations started to come out. This is one of the most confusing scandals in k-pop forever. We really do not know whether she is innocent or not. If she is, we hope HYBE will be successful in proving her innocence. But if she really did all of those things, we hope that the company takes proper actions for the sake of the victims as well as its image.
In this article, we will be listing down all of the allegations made against Kim Garam in chronological order. Through this, you can assess the situation that the idol and company are in.
April 5 – The First Bullying Allegations Against Kim Garam
As soon as it was announced that Garam would be debuting in LE SSERAFIM, many of her middle school classmates started revolving around videos and images of her from that time. A netizen who claimed that they were close to one of the people who used to hang out with Kim Garam, came out with bullying allegations against the female K-pop idol. The netizen said that if Garma was making a TikTok and you happened to pass by, she would glare at you and start cursing. The netizen said that if they did something that she did not like, she would start talking about them behind their back and bully up in front of their face with her friends.
Not only that, the netizen said that when Kim Garam was accepted into SOPA, she cut ties with people from her middle school years. To get things straight, she even messaged people on Instagram and facebook and even changed her number to protect her image. Back then, she told them that she wanted to become an actress. Along with the accusations, a screenshot of Garam’s Facebook account was posted, and it did bring a big shock to netizens. Keep in mind she still must have been about twelve years at that time. The selfies were captioned, asking people whether they would like to have an explicit relationship with her. One of her friends even said that they would like to, to which Kim Garam replied by telling them to message her.
Many more photos were released, some as proof of knowing her, others that proved that she smoked as a minor as well. There was even an image where she and her friends stood in front of a board where they might have drawn all those explicit images and texts. The only excuse that HYBE can make is that these provocative images were photoshopped.
When a netizen contacts someone who claims that they knew Kim Garam when she was in middle school, the person said that if a junior did not greet her, she would message them on Facebook and talk down to them, drinking and smoking were a given. The person told the netizen that she would turn many people into an outcast and even steal money for fun. It is quite unfair for the person that a person like Garam is debuting. Moreover, some netizens posted screenshots of her threatening to kill people if they do not pick up when she calls.
HYBE’s Statement Regarding This
HYBE said that after investigating the matter, they had concluded that all of this is defamation. A third party had confirmed that Kim Garam had been a victim of cyberbullying and malicious comments when she entered school. Furthermore, HYBE said that the images were photoshopped and were just malicious rumors. The company said that they would be taking legal actions against those who would slander the artist’s name.
After Garam had debuted, K-netizens had shown that they totally disliked her. With not calling out her name in fan events and her not receiving any gifts, they have shown total disgust over all of the rumors floating about her.
May 19 – A Victim Talks About The Trauma They Faced Due To Kim Garam Bullying Them
This victim, that goes by the pseudonym Yoo Eunseo, had been bullied by Kim Garam from late April to early May 2018. Yoo Eunseo says that within one to two weeks after she joined the school, she left for a new one because she could not withstand the bullying of Kim Garam and her friends. Due to this School, Violence Countermeasures Committee took action and gave Kim Garam six hours long of special education. To her parents, a five hours long class of special education, and the alleged victim, Yoo Eunseo, psychological counseling and advice.
Yoo Eunseo said that after Kim Garam debuted, the online bullying got more severe. Netizens were claiming that Yoo Eunseo was just jealous of Kim Garam. People said that Yoo Eunseo is just jealous of pretty girls like Kim Garam and LE SSERAFIM. Even worse, they took photos of Yoo Eunseo, blurred them, and said that if she kept slandering Kim Garam, then she should start preparing for her own grave. Through all of this, you can see why Yoo Eunseo went through anxiety and fear. She thought, how did the blackmailer get her photo. Yoo Eunseo even got panic attacks from time to time.
The victim only wanted a simple apology from Kim Garam, but HYBE ignored the letter, said the legal counsel of Yoo Eunseo. All of the second round attacks led to the victim trying to take her own life. Because of this, the victim’s parents stopped her school activities, and she is taking psychological help. Yoo Eunseo’s mom has stopped going to work for the past seven weeks and is staying with the victim so that Yoo Eunseo does not attempt to take her life once again.
HYBE And Source Music’s Reply To Yoo Eunseo’s Allegations
The companies said that this was just a one-sided argument and that people should look at both sides. After a few hours, they updated the media on what had happened. They said that Kim Garam and Yoo Eunseo were friends between March and April and got into a fight when Yoo Eunseo found out that Kim Garam was talking behind her back. Both had apologized to each other initially, but after Yoo Eunseo told her close male friend about the matter, both of them threatened to harm Kim Garam, which is why the two did not get along.
After this, Yoo Eunseo took a photo of ‘Student D,’ who was a friend of Garam, while she was changing and only had her underwear on. Then, Yoo Eunseo went ahead and posted this on ‘Student A’s social media account. Student D had been deeply traumatized, and five of her friends, including Kim Garam, faced Yoo Eunseo about this. Yoo Eunseo did admit to her wrongdoings but was not punished by the School Violence Committee.
Yoo Eunseo called the school violence committee, saying that Kim Garam and her friends had bullied her. Also, due to the request of Student D Yoo Eunseo had transferred to another school that was beside Kim Garam’s school. After their statement, Kim Garam went on an indefinite hiatus.
Many people had been angry at HYBE and Source Music for covering up for Kim Garam. Netizens say that her parents must be really rich for HYBE to hide such a criminal. Others also pointed out that the BTS’s V and Blackpink’s Jennie’s dating rumors were started so that the media’s attention was not on Kim Garam anymore. Netizens do not get why HYBE is going through such lengths just to cover up the wrongdoings done by a rookie k-pop idol unless her parents were really powerful.
May 21- HYBE Clarifies Statement About Kim Garam Being Punished For School Violence
It has been reported that Kim Garam had been given the 5th disposition. A lawyer said that it is quite rare to get the 5th disposition unless school violence is involved. The company said that a school violence committee is not a just court and provided further explanation. They said that Garam’s mom thought that their ruling would be the best for her child to be on the right path. However, she has now been regretting her decision.
Netizens had been skeptical about HYBE’s reply, and the fact that they tried to negotiate with the victim’s lawyers did not settle well with them. Even more and more people keep coming out regarding this matter. Netizens say that Garam should be kicked out of the group since the other members have done nothing wrong. Clips of her looking down at the members themselves have also been surfacing online. We hope that things clear out soon!
Also Read: Le Sserafim, HYBE’s First Ever Girl Group: All That We Know
