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| ▲ This photo, provided by Source Music, shows LE SSERAFIM's Kim Ga-ram. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
SEOUL, May 20 (Yonhap) – As the middle school bullying scandal surrounding the member Kim Ga-ram of LE SSERAFIM, which drew attention as “HYBE’s first girl group,” has been intensified, the victim released a statement revealing the details that prove the bullying incident.
The agency HYBE and Source Music responded that the statements were arranged in favor of the victim and they will announce their positions soon.
The victim A said in a statement revealed through the law firm Daeryun on May 19, “I was bullied by Kim Ga-ram and her friends in late April to early May in 2018 and later transferred to another school because I couldn't stand the continued abuse."
The official from A said, "As a result of the School Violence Committee held on June 4, 2018, Kim Ga-ram, a student who committed school violence, was sentenced to six hours of special education and five hours of special education for parents."
The official also mentioned regarding the “Notice of School Violence Committee Results,” which was recently unveiled on the online community, that the contents correspond to the notification of the results submitted by A.
The document notifies the measures taken in Articles 16 and 17 of the "Act on the Prevention and Countermeasures of School Violence” and states “Kim Gram of Grade 1, Class 3” as the perpetrator, which led to mixed reactions.
A appealed her damage by saying that she has been maliciously criticized and threatened since Kim Ga-ram’s bullying allegations broke out.
The official from A claimed, "The victim was maliciously criticized by people she didn't even know for 'maliciously slandering' and 'slandering out of jealousy', and some posts threatened to release her photos."
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| ▲ This file photo shows LE SSERAFIM's Kim Ga-ram. (Yonhap) |
The victim said that the secondary victimization has become even worse after Source Music denied the allegations, saying, "The accusations have been edited with malicious intent.”
The official from the victim added, "We filed a complaint to the Seoul Guro Police Station against those who posted false comments, and sent the certification of contents of victim's position to HYBE.
He then criticized, "Although we did not ask for any compensation to HYBE and urged them to delete the statement that is not true about the incident and to make a factual statement again, HYBE has still not replied.”
The legal representative said, "The victim, who couldn't stand the extreme anxiety and fear caused by the secondary victimization, ended up attempting suicide and decided to halt studying and expressed her intention to drop out."
He also warned, "The victim and her guardian are desperate to stop the secondary victimization," adding, "If HYBE maintains its existing position without any sincere apology, we are considering disclosing the full text of the results of the School Violence Committee.”
A stressed, “We ask for HYBE and its label Source Music not to cause any more secondary victimization,” adding, “We should strongly be aware that the experience of mass school violence on young students remain as a scar deep inside the heart and cannot be undone even with compensation or treatment."
As the official from the victim referred to the allegation themselves, the response of Source Music and HYBE, which denied the rumors as a "malicious slander,” has come under fire.
In particular, it was confirmed that A sent the certification of contents for ▲ Kim Garam's notification of the results of School Violence Committee ▲ Petition that contains the suffering of the victim for slander allegations ▲ Notice of School Violence Committee Results of Kim Ga-ram to HYBE’s headquarter in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on Apr. 21
In other words, HYBE was already aware that Kim Ga-ram had received special education from school as a perpetrator before LE SSERAFIM’s debut(May 2). In this sense, HYBE cannot avoid criticism that it enforced Kim Ga-ram’s debut while acknowledging the fact.
HYBE and Source Music issued a statement later in the day, saying, "The law firm Daeryun has announced some of the actual issues occurred in 2018 in their favor," adding, "We will organize and announce our position as soon as possible."
They also emphasized, “We would like to mention once again that the controversy began with the spread of false information about the member whose debut was imminent," adding, "We immediately began the legal action based on the judgment that such spread of false rumors was malicious, and we are still proceeding with the process."
HYBE and Source Music added, “The reason why we didn’t actively clarify the rumors even when the member suffered from the malicious attacks of people whose anonymity was guaranteed was because many of her peers were involved in the incident that happened in the first grade of middle school, and they are still minors.”
(This article is translated from Korean to English by Kim Sun Min.)
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