(TW: Self-Harm, Bullying) ILUV's agency responds to claims that Minah was bullied by the members

[rockerista03.livejournal.com]

ILUV's agency responds to claims that former member Minah was bullied by members

Entertainment agency WKS ENE has spoken up about the claims involving their former group ILUV and former member Minah.

It was recently revealed that former ILUV member Minah had attempted to take her own life after being a victim of bullying. Minah had joined ILUV in November 2019 and promoted with the song “Open the Door” before leaving the group. An anonymous, unconfirmed post on an online community claims that Minah had been bullied by the members while promoting as part of ILUV and was suffering from depression and insomnia.

On July 13, Minah made a post about her situation on Instagram that reads as follows:

Thanks to my lawyer, I was able to terminate my exclusive contract with the company.

I want to thank my fans, friends, and family who have been supporting me and worrying about me.

I was taking a break from my activities due to depression, panic disorder, and insomnia, and I want to thank all of you for your supportive messages and fan letters. They gave me so much strength.

I also want to really thank my lawyer for making me happy.

Now I’m going to go back to my original self.

My psychiatrist told me, “You have a healthy personality that doesn’t require any psychiatric help. You are a person full of passion for your dreams. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

When I heard those words, I cried a lot. I agree with what my psychiatrist said.

I, too, know that I did nothing wrong. As I’m writing this, I feel very happy.

I want to thank composer Yoon Sang Jo for giving me many lines in the good song “Open the Door,” even though I may have been lacking. Thank you for giving me unforgettable happiness.

I want to thank our teacher Ko Young Won, who made the choreography for “Open the Door,” for often giving me warm compliments.

I had a hard time with depression, panic disorder, and insomnia, and I was able to heal with the song and dance.

And I want to thank my teacher Jung Pil Gyu for always listening to me, worrying about me, and giving me warm advice and consolation. You appreciated my skills and taught me many things.

I will be healthier and return to my old self.

I will continue to be active in the entertainment industry.

I’ve never given up on my dreams.

I will continue to be active in the future.

I hope everyone who reads this will be healthy and happy!

Then on July 15, she gave another update on her Instagram that reads as follows:

I posted a message two days ago and a lot of people contacted me.

Thank you so much for your concern…

Thank you very much. I’m sorry I haven’t replied to everyone yet.

It’s the first time my phone has been ringing non-stop with calls and messages.

Many people are asking if I ate and if I’m okay now.

I’m still unable to eat. I currently weigh 36 kilograms (approximately 79 pounds).

As for how I’m doing, I don’t know.

One thing I can tell you is that I got a call from the company asking me to keep this a secret.

I don’t know why I have to keep it a secret.

Shouldn’t you apologize?

I want to receive an apology from the people who gave me a hard time.

They’re probably watching this secretly.

Think about it if you have a conscience.

I’m dying. Is that what you want? For me to die?

I know you’re watching this secretly.

Don’t hide.

I’m in enough pain right now, so please don’t bother me.

On the same day, Minah revealed through a video on her YouTube channel Cocoah that she had tried to take her own life the past day. Fortunately, she was saved just in time by a police officer, whom she thanked in the video. She confessed that she was struggling and pleaded the people who were bullying her to stop.

Reportedly, the former members of the now-disbanded girl group ILUV are preparing to re-debut in the same agency as part of a new girl group called BOTOPASS in August.

The agency responded to the rumors surrounding Minah and the other ILUV members with the following official statement:

This is WKS ENE.

We would like to express the agency’s position on the false information about Minah being harassed by all six members of ILUV. With rumors of verbal abuse and assault circulating recently, we realize this could seriously defame our agency’s artists and the former members who are finding their own paths, so we decided to give an explanation on the matter.

Minah has been on a break since January for health reasons. The agency wanted to give her a chance for a new project, but she stated that she needed more time to recover, so we allowed her to extend her break. It is unfortunate that such an incident has occurred in this situation.

WKS ENE and the six former members of ILUV want to make it clear that her claims are not true. For some reason, Minah is refusing to meet us, but we read on her social media account that she is suffering from mental illnesses, such as severe insomnia, so we tried to refrain from taking further action while hoping her health would recover.

The six members are shocked and hurt by the one-sided and absurd claims made by one person who is stating that she is experiencing difficulties with mental health. It is especially puzzling how she could accuse a member who had not lived at the dorm with her.

Nevertheless, we have no choice but to take separate legal action to protect our artists from actions that continue to spread groundless content and damage their image and reputation. Also, we would like to ask you to please refrain from writing speculative articles or malicious comments based on unconfirmed information, and if you posted something due to a misunderstanding, we would appreciate it if you could voluntarily take it down.

We apologize for the delay in our response. The agency needed to confirm the exact facts about what Minah claimed before expressing our position. Thank you.

Sources: choco._.ah (1, 2), Cocoah on Youtube, Naver (1, 2) via Soompi

If you or a person you know are having suicidal thoughts and need help, don't hesitate and call one of the numbers on this list.

Comments

[yuwkon.livejournal.com]

:( so basically everyone in aoa are bullies? Even her bestie? :(

[tsubaki874.livejournal.com]

This is not AOA, this is a different group called ILUV and a different member that happens to also be named Minah

[horichansenpai.livejournal.com]

Different group. This is ILUV, with some members redebuting in Botopass.

Other than Mina posting a selfie there's been no more AOA updates (although I hear fans are freaking out because she unfollowed Seolhyun and Chanmi on instagram + Chanmi only follows her cats right now)

[mntsuklaa.livejournal.com]

I got the impression from one of the previous posts here that no one really took her side (or at least she felt that way) when AOA basically stormed her house, so I wouldn't blame Mina if she decided to cut everyone out of her life...

[horichansenpai.livejournal.com]

I thought the same as you and support Mina disassociating herself with whoever's making her uncomfortable with. But I think what people are curious about is that she only unfollowed those two members in particular and not anyone else in the group/formerly in the group the past week :S

[mntsuklaa.livejournal.com]

Well since none of us were there we can only speculate, maybe Seolhyun and Chanmi were on Jimin's side or they didn't apologize properly (there's absolutely no way the members weren't aware of Mina's issues and suicide attempts, she had to have taken time off after each attempt and the others would've been given a reason)
Or maybe she just didn't feel like being in touch with them, I have former coworkers/schoolmates that I got along with great when we were working together, but after quitting we just lost contact. I could see that happening, especially after what Mina's been through.

[yuwkon.livejournal.com]

lmao i just realized i got aoa and iluv confused (well they almost have the same situation and names so...) i hope she's okay now

[rose-potion.livejournal.com]

They're going to sue a mentally distressed person ?
She needs help and that won't help her, on the contrary. I can understand they want to protect themselves but she's too vulnerable to handle this.

[xoxkenzxox.livejournal.com]

Mina-gate - giving all bullied members a feeling of safety to come forward.

good expose all the evil girls. I only want to support females supporting other females. Being an idol is hard enough. why make that harder for anyone?

[horichansenpai.livejournal.com]

I hope this girl is getting taken care of + sees some sort of justice.

[inwazyja.livejournal.com]

You have a healthy personality that doesn’t require any psychiatric help

I really hope this is lost in translation or out of context (like her psychiatrist basically saying telling her she's not crazy). She says she weighs well below what anyone should be and can't eat and she attempted to take her own life, she absolutely needs psychiatric help.

For some reason, Minah is refusing to meet us

Gee, I wonder why she wouldn't want to meet in person, eh? Also nice attempt at spinning her mental health issues into delusion. The company sounds like utter trash.

[premonitioner.livejournal.com]

I read it that he was saying that she doesn't have any personality disorders (aka 'it's not your fault, you don't have a condition that makes it hard for you to get on with people')

[aures.livejournal.com]

never heard of this group before, but i hope she gets all the help and love she needs