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On May 19, HYBE released a notice stating that the lengthy statement from Daeryun, the legal representative of Kim Garam’s alleged victim, was edited in a way that put their artist at a disadvantage. The company reiterated that the idol’s school bullying rumors were false and malicious.
HYBE stated that they would release their stand on the issue after carefully reviewing Daeryun’s claims and the incidents in 2018.
The K-pop agency's statement arrived after a legal firm, Daeryun detailed struggles of their client, the alleged victim of Kim Garam, henceforth called Ms. A, in their statement.
Trigger warning: Bullying, mental health
HYBE releases new statement regarding Kim Garam’s school bullying controversy
HYBE’s girl group LE SSERAFIM debuted on a rough note. The group had been in the news from the start, majorly because of Kim Garam, the 16-year-old member who got embroiled in a school bullying controversy.
In a joint statement, HYBE and Source Music shared their regret regarding Daeryun publicly discussing their position via media outlets as the incident involved several minors.
The agency added that they would release their official position soon. They claimed that the legal firm published and edited the statements to make them look advantageous, calling it a “one-sided” argument.
An excerpt from the statement reads:
"We would like to say that Daeryun compiled and published the events that occurred in 2018 in a way that makes their side look advantageous, so we will compile and share our official position shortly. Therefore, journalists should refrain from reporting on the basis of one-sided arguments."
Legal representatives of an alleged victim of Kim Garam’s school violence demand HYBE take back their statement
HYBE has been asked to take back its statement about LE SSERAFIM member Kim Garam's alleged history of bullying.
The representatives stated that they “are considering” revealing the complete reports of the School Violence Countermeasures Committee, including victim statements, a summary of the “heinous abuse,” and “threatening text messages” to the public.
After posts and photos allegedly exposing the LE SSERAFIM member went viral, many speculated Ms. A, the reported victim, to be the author of the posts and targeted her online.
HYBE’s statements claiming they will take legal action and portraying the LE SSERAFIM member as a victim increased the attack on Ms. A by manifolds.
Daeryun stated that on April 20, 2022, they even sent HYBE a parcel containing information about the malicious posts that falsely accused Ms. A of being the author of the blogs.
They also sent in School Violence Countermeasures Committee results, which stated that Kim Garam was the perpetrator.
However, they received no reply from LE SSERAFIM’s side. Ms. A continued to receive threatening messages and comments. Watching her alleged bully unperturbed also took a severe toll on her mind.
Suffering from extreme anxiety and fear, Ms. A attempted suicide, stated Daeryun. Her parents stopped her school activities and decided to stay at home to prevent her from taking any extreme action again.
An excerpt about the compensation Ms. A wanted, as per Daeryun:
“The victim (Ms. A) did not ask for any compensation, but she urged for the deletion of the statement that was different from the truth, to make a statement based on the facts, an apology, and simply just the truth.”
Meanwhile, Daeryun clearly stated that HYBE has not yet given their client an apology but painted the K-pop idol as the victim.
They added,
“If HYBE continues to maintain this position, we are considering releasing the full report from the School Violence Countermeasures Committee, including the summary of the case, as well as the victim statements given during the investigations as well as descriptions of the heinous abuse that was not included.”
Additionally, Ms. A’s legal representatives also mentioned that they would release text conversations between the two.
Currently, the internet is rife with LE SSERAFIM and K-pop fans demanding an honest answer from HYBE.
