LE SSERAFIM'S Kim Garam accused of school bullying, Source Music denies all allegations 

Rookie girl group LE SSERAFIM's agency Source Music recently released a statement denying member Kim Garam's school bullying accusations.

On April 5, the idol was accused of taking part in school violence and bullying by several anonymous netizens. Incidentally, it was on the same day that Source Music unveiled the singer as part of the new girl group LE SSERAFIM.

The accusations were posted on several online forums, including Twitter.

One Twitter user, going by the handle @urondos, claimed to have graduated from the same middle school as Kim Garam. According to the netizen, the idol would allegedly harass juniors on Facebook if they didn’t greet her properly. They also claimed that the rookie idol would drink and smoke, back in middle school.

The allegations were corroborated by another person, who also claimed to be a former classmate. They said,

“She really did all sorts of things then. Light bullying was a given, and she would hurl curse words at you if you passed by.”

Among several pieces of evidence that these netizens claimed to have was a screenshot of a conversation allegedly from the LE SSERAFIM member. According to the messages, the idol used harsh language to threaten someone who wasn’t answering their phone.

Another allegation doing the rounds stated that one of the students had to be taken to the emergency room after an encounter with Kim Garam.

A photo showing the idol posing, along with her friends, against the backdrop of a blackboard that contained explicit images was also posted.

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LE SSERAFIM'S agency Source Music and HYBE come to Kim Garam's defense, denying all allegations

While the allegations have had Korean fans of the group in an outrage, LE SSERAFIM'S agency Source Music is firmly standing by their idol and is unequivocally denying all the allegations.

In an official statement, Source Music and its parent group HYBE said,

"We would like to inform you about our position regarding the suspicions related to Kim Garam, who has been confirmed to debut as a member of LE SSERAFIM, a girl group from Source Music under HYBE."

According to the statement, the allegations and the evidence posted were both forged. The agency, which claimed to have conducted internal verification, said,

"The recent allegations were cunningly edited to maliciously slander Kim Garam over the events that occurred during the time when she was making friends in the early stages of middle school."

Source Music claimed that far from being a bully, the singer herself was a victim of bullying. The agency said,

"Contrary to the claims, it was confirmed through a third-party statement that Kim Garam was a victim of school bullying, including malicious rumors and cyberbullying, when she was in middle school."

It was also confirmed that the rumors, such as that Kim Garam was a trainee at another agency or that she leaked internal documents, were not true. They stated,

"We believe that the allegations are maliciously intended to harm the artist who is about to debut, and we inform you that Source Music has taken legal action against the spread of unilateral and distorted allegations and false information related to this case."

The agency concluded by announcing that they would be pursuing legal action against those who spread rumors without evidence. They added,

"Furthermore, the allegations that have been raised contain defamation of character against someone who is still a minor before her debut as a celebrity, and we would like to clearly state that we will take legal action without any settlement or leniency."

Meanwhile, LE SSERAFIM is all set to debut in May.