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On November 10, 2024, the T-ARA bullying controversy from 2012 gained attention again. This was after former group member, Hwayoung, posted on Instagram refuting MBK Entertainment's former CEO Kim Kwang-soo’s statements on the controversy.
Kim Kwang-soo mentioned on MBN's talk show, Let’s Go, that he tore the contracts of Hwayoung and her twin sister, Hyoyoung. The episode was aired on November 9, 2024, on MBN network.
In 2017, Dispatch reported that Hwayoung allegedly went to another hospital to get a leg cast in 2012, even when the doctors told her that she was fine. The staff claimed that she had been allegedly lying about being bullied.
They also claimed that she preferred to rest at a hotel during their Japan performance and ordered a personal nail care session while the group rehearsed. The controversy led to Hwayoung's removal from the group on July 30, 2012.
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In her recent Instagram post on November 10, 2024, Hwayoung claimed that she was surprised to see the former CEO being "biased" and distorting the truth. She claimed that she had been carrying the guilt for 12 years and avoided responding to rumors. She wrote:
"I have always carried feelings of guilt toward all the fans who loved T-ARA and the members with whom I parted ways under terms like “bullying” and “conflict. For 12 years, I have carried the label of being involved in the “T-ARA Bullying” incident, choosing not to respond to numerous rumors and living with the consequences."
Hwayoung continued:
"Firstly, the fact that I was bullied is true. The claim that I did not experience bullying and merely pretended to be a “victim” is false. As the new member of T-ARA, I worked hard with the determination not to burden the original members and to blend in. However, the original members often subjected me to violence and constant verbal abuse."
What is the T-ARA bullying controversy?
The group debuted in 2009, however, it got embroiled in a bullying controversy when Hwayoung first claimed that she was bullied by her team members in 2012. In February 2017, Hwayoung and her sister, Hyoyoung, appeared on Live Talk Show Taxi show where she claimed she was being bullied and felt hated by the group's other members.
After the show, a staff member of MBK Entertainment came forward to deny the allegations and released the chat screenshots, allegedly showcasing Hyoyoung threatening to physically harm T-ARA member, Ahreum.
In 2017, Dispatch reported that several other employees stepped up, claiming Hwayoung was allegedly disrespectful towards the staff and the T-ARA members. They claimed that she would mistreat everyone and exaggerate being bullied.
Inquistr further reported in February 2017 that the group members and their agency denied the allegations claiming that Hwayoung's sister Hyoyoung was allegedly threatening T-ARA's Ahreum on chat. The chat was later leaked online, speculating that Hwayoung's bullying allegations were false.
Hwayoung initially denied the allegations. However, she later accepted that the chat screenshots between her sister and Ahreum were real.
Hwayoung's alleged bullying controversy resurfaces as she refutes former CEO's recent statement
On November 10, 2024, Maeil Business Newspaper reported that the bullying controversy resurfaced after Hwayoung watched former CEO Kim Kwang-soo’s statement on MBN's Let's Go show, where he mentioned ripping her contract.
Kim Kwang-soo recalled telling Hwayoung and Hyoyoung were free to leave the agency. He claimed that the parents of the group's other members wanted to hold a press conference to reveal the truth about the bullying controversy.
Hwayoung alleged that she was blackmailed by him. She wrote in her Instagram post that she had plenty of evidence to prove her bullying allegations, however, Kim Kwang-soo allegedly asked her to keep quiet, writing:
"When my contract with T-ARA ended, I had plenty of evidence to prove that I was bullied and planned to express my side through a press conference. However, CEO Kim Kwang Soo proposed that if I kept quiet without holding a press conference, he would terminate the contract of my older sister, who was also under the same agency at the time."
Currently, T-ARA consists of four members: Qri, Eunjung, Hyomin, and Jiyeon. Meanwhile, Hwayoung remained active in both music and acting projects. She is well-known for her role in the K-drama, Hello, My Twenties!, The Beauty Inside and more.
