Here is all the information you need to know about how LE SSERAFIM’s Kim Garam’s new victim speaks up. Kim Garam is a part of the newly debuted girl group under the label Source Music, which is a part of HYBE Entertainment. The 17-year-old idol has been receiving allegations from various online posts of different communities, which accuse her of being a school bully. These allegations started in April 2022, when the company revealed that the idol will debut soon.
There have been a lot of talks going on on different social media platforms and netizens have also shared evidence to support their allegations. When the controversy began in April 2022, HYBE released a statement that shared that Kim Garam was actually a victim of school bullying when she was in middle school. HYBE had also announced at that time that they will be taking legal actions, as the allegations are defaming the character of a minor before her debut as an idol. They also claimed that the allegations were false and that they would not be lenient with those who spread these allegations.
LE SSERAFIM’s Kim Garam’s new victim releases a statement
On May 19, the alleged victim ‘A’ released a long statement through a law firm that stated that the idol had previously bullied ‘A’. the statement also added that since HYBE released a statement that called the idol a victim, she has been experiencing immense anxiety and fear and she also received online harassment. It also mentions that since HYBE did not take back its previous statement and let the idol promote with LE SSERAFIM, she has been unable to handle her anxiety and attempted to harm her life. The statement also mentioned that ‘A’ did not ask for any compensation, rather she just wants that the company deletes their previous statement
HYBE and Source Music responded to this by releasing another statement that stated that the law firm gave out a unilateral point of view, even though this matter involved many minors. They also asked journalists not to base their reports on these one-sided arguments. They also said that they will soon post their official statement which will be their review of the claims stated by the law firm.
HYBE Releases Full Statement Addressing The Accusations
HYBE Labels/Source Music release their full statement to address the accusations by LE SSERAFIM’s Kim Garam’s new victim ‘A’. In the statement, they mentioned that initially, they refrained from giving out specific details because the matter involved several minors, and they may face the danger that their identities and social media accounts would get exposed. But since the rumours have become exaggerated about the idol being a one-sided bully, the agency would like to clarify these allegations.
They first explained the key point from the School Violence Committee session. They further explained that ‘A’ took a photo of a fellow classmate while she was changing. The idol and her friends were angry upon knowing this and they confronted ‘A’, but there was no physical violence involved. ‘A’ acknowledged her mistake but she did not get punished for her wrongdoing. She accused Kim Garam and her friends of bullying her and called for a committee meeting but she transferred to another school before the meeting happened and thus, the idol and her friends were penalized.
They further stated that Kim Garam was a victim of school bullying as she had to face many false rumours in school. Some of the fellow students forced the idl and her friends to join group chatrooms where they were subjected to verbal bullying or cursing. And they were also bullied if they tried to leave the group or if they did not respond to their messages. The statement went on to point out the allegations that were made against the idol and they stated that they are not true. They stated that the idol had never smoked, she was never forced to transfer to another school, she was never escorted in a police car or involved in gang fights. She was also never a trainee at another agency and she never spoke about other artists rudely.
Following this, they revealed that LE SSERAFIM’s Kim Garam will take a temporary hiatus from promotions so that she can heal emotionally and mentally.
Also read: 10 New Kpop Groups in 2022 That Everyone is Talking About
