School violence accusations: roundup & updates

[em-cavey.livejournal.com]

OP Notes: This is my attempt to summarize the wave of accusations of school violence against various actors and singers/idols that have been surfacing over the past few days. Fwiw, I'm only including offical news sources in part due to omona's rules but also because there's a lot of stuff floating around out there and I'm not sure how much of it should be further discussed until necessary so I'm just going to rely on official news. Also due to the sheer amount of information, I'm going to keep things summarized a bit more briefly here, and obviously people can expand upon things in more detail in the comments.

TW: A LOT of descriptions of bullying/violence

Jo Byung-gyu

A post about the accusations against actor Jo Byung-gyu can be found here. In short, multiple accusations have been made about Jo bullying, verbally abusing and occasionally hitting his classmates in Korea and during his stint studying in New Zealand. A first accusation was made in 2018, followed by three more in 2021.
    Jo and his agency HB Entertainment have continuously denied all of the accusations and threatened legal action against accusers. The first recent accusation has since been recantd and the original posting of one of the others has been deleted. Netizens are nonetheless expressing skepticism about the credibility of these developments. Jo recently posted a personal statement in his defense, denying all accusations of violence or bullying and expressing his anger and "disgust" at being "the target of volatile and unreliable anonymous accusations." His agency has stated they are continuing to investigate and prepare legal proceedings.



Soojin of (G)I-DLE

Posts about the accusations against Soojin and the responses can be found here and here. In short, on Feb 20th, a netizen posted  to the internet claiming that Soojin had systematically tormented and bullied other students, primarily the poster's younger sister, using threats, intimidation, physical violence, cyberbullying and gang-leading, as well as other generally delinquent behavior. Several other netizens then claimed to further corroborte these statements, though some have since deleted their comments and posts. In addition, actress Seo Shinae, a middle school classmate of Soojin's, has made indirect statements on Instagram that seemingly alluded to the accusations being true. Seo has previously spoken about being bullied in school after rising to fame as a child star on the sitcom Highkick Through the Roof.
    Cube Entertainment categorically denied the accusations and threatened legal action. Soojin then further responded by posting a personal statement to the group's fancafe, explaining that she had "rebelled" as a student who "always stood out and bad rumors have always followed." She admitted to having a rocky relationship with the alleged victim but claimed they had been friends overall and denied the bullying and other behaviors she had been accused of. The original accuser has since posted again maintaining her position and extensively refuting and rejecting Soojin's statements and speaking out against the harassment she has been receiving from netizens/fans. She has also claimed that Cube reached out to the alleged victim and suggested representatives from the company meet with her but she refused unless Soojin and the victim could meet in person for a discussion or an apology or else she would hire a lawyer and prepare for legal measures.


Park Hye-soo

On February 21st, actress Park Hye-soo came under suspicion of school violence when a netizen posted an accusation about an unnamed female actor who had recently risen to fame, detailing the extensive verbal and physical abuse and bullying that she had carried out against her middle school classmates, including slapping others, throwing lunchboxes off the school rooftop, forcibly cutting a girl's hair, nearly forcing another to swallow a pack of preservatives and insulting the accuser's father during a phone conversation. Based on the clues provided in the post, netizens guessed that the actress was Park Hye-soo, who recently starred in the acclaimed movie Samjin Company English Class.
    Park's agency Santa Claus Entertainment have completely denied the original accusations but additional comments and posts have since emerged on various social media backing up the accusations and claiming Park's violent behavior was common knowledge in their community, with about ten alleged victims apparently creating a group chat to collect evidence and prepare further accusations and plans.
    As a result of this growing controversy, Park's planned appearances on several radio and variety shows, including Yoo Heeyeol's Sketchbook, have already been cancelled. Her upcoming drama Dear.M, scheduled to start airing on the 26th, is also expected to be badly affected by the controversy.
    But in a further development, the original accuser has since deleted her original post, claiming that Park Hye-soo was in fact not the actor she was referring to, denying that she had specifically indicated Park was the bully in question and claiming to have gotten in touch with the actual bully. However, the later group of victims distanced themselves from the original accuser, stating she was not one of them and they maintained their accusations against Park.
    On the 23rd, Santa Claus Entertainment stated that they have submitted a lawsuit against various accusers save for the original accuser who later denied Park was her bully.


Kim Donghee

On February 21st, school violence accusations were posted regarding actor Kim Donghee (who coincidentally got his big break playing brothers alongside Jo Byung-gyu in the 2019 drama Sky Castle). The poster claimed not to be a victim themself but that Kim Donghee's abusive and bullying behavior in elementary and middle school was very well-known in their community. The accuser claimed Kim had been an extreme delinquent who even smoked in class and that he frequently targeted other kids he viewed as weak, including a disabled classmate whom he would force to play a 'game' that involved Kim repeatedly slapping the other student in the face.
    After the first accusations gained media attention, more emerged, including one alleged former classmate who claimed that Kim's mother had recently called his family to apologize and ask forgiveness on Kim's behalf. This accuser claimed that Kim had once repeatedly punched and choked him in the hall during an argument and threatened him with a sharp object and further reiterated the claim that Kim regularly abused and humiliated their disabled classmate, including kicking and tripping him in the bathroom.
    Kim's agency NPO Entertainment has denied the accusations, stating they had confirmed with Kim and school employees that he had never committed school violence and further stated that a previous 2018 post alleging similar things had also been false but the agency had disregarded it since it was soon deleted. They have also stated they have secured a legal representative and will begin legal proceedings soon.

Mingyu of Seventeen

On February 22nd, a netizen posted an account accusing Mingyu of Seventeen of having been part of a gang of bullies since elementary and middle school, and regularly engaged in verbal abuse and occasional physical violence against the accuser and other students. The accuser described how Mingyu insulted and laughed at them when other bullies were verbally abusing them and threw objects such as bottle caps at the accuser for fun and claimed there was at least one incident when he took money from them after becoming a trainee and an incident where he brought them up to the rooftop of the school building and threatened them. The post was accompanied with numerous screenshots of Mingyu apparently using derogatory and insulting language towards and about other students in his Facebook timeline.
    Pledis has denied all accusations of bullying and further claimed the accusations were false on the basis of some inaccurate information, such as the pictured yearbook not being the the correct one and the accuser not knowing the correct year Mingyu became a trainee. The original post has since been deleted.


Sohye formerly of I.O.I

On February 22nd, a netizen claiming to be a middle school classmate of Sohye formerly of I.O.I accused her of being a bully who regularly bragged about beating up and intimidating other students, including one girl who she had pulled to the ground by her hair. The accuser claimed that Sohye was very well known in the neighborhood as a bully and had frequently gotten in disciplinary trouble for it and included screenshots of Sohye sending threatening and derogatory online messages to other students. More comments then emerged claiming that Sohye was a well-known bully in her school district and community. Yet other netizens claiming to be former classmates have sided with Sohye, claiming she was not violent or a bully and the messages were taken out of context.
    Sohye's agency S&P Entertainment have made a statement categorically denying the accusations and reiterated that Sohye had previously been the subject of bullying rumors that had been disproven. Sohye and her agency had previously sued a netizen for spreading rumors of bullying in 2018 but had ultimately decided not to prosecute.


Hyunjin of Stray Kids

On February 22nd, a netizen claiming to be a middle school classmate of Hyunjin of Stray Kids wrote a detailed account accusing him of bullying her in middle school, claiming that he constantly said derogatory and offensive things about her and her family in their class group chat and harassed and verbally abused her and her friends for petty reasons such as telling him to close the classroom door or getting more than their fair share of food from the lunch line. She claimed he further lead the other boys in class in cyberbullying her and harassing her for the rest of the year even after they changed classes and he didn't interact with her as directly anymore. The accuser included screenshots of a conversation with another classmate that seemed to corroborate her statements.
    Further accusations have emerged claiming that Hyunjin verbally threatened and physically intimidated and cyberbullied other students as well. Other posts have also been made claiming to be former classmates and stating that Hyunjin and the accuser did not like each other or get along but the dynamic was not one-sided bullying as was being claimed.
    JYP Entertainment responded, stating that they are reaching out to other students and teachers from Hyunjin’s school to gather more information and invited the accuser to contact them directly to discuss the accusations. However they further stated that they have confirmed that the certain aspects of the spreading rumors are at least partially false and intend to pursue legal action against those responsible for spreading them.


Kihyun of Monsta X

On February 22rd, a netizen posted to an online community claiming to be a former middle school classmate of Monsta X’s Kihyun and claimed to have photos of Kihyun drinking and smoking as a middle school student that they threatened to release. The poster accused Kihyun of being one of a few delinquent kids in their class that harassed and taunted and even occasionally hit other kids, that Kihyun was not a very serious bully himself but once took the accuser’s money and also forced him to buy cigarettes for him and he once brought another classmate to tears by insulting her. The accuser further claimed that he required psychiatric care due to the bullying he experienced in school.
    In response, Starship Entertainment stated that they are reaching out to classmates and teachers from Kihyun’s school to gather more information and invited the accuser to contact them directly to discuss the accusations. Starship has also clarified that a similar post had been made in 2015 and another in 2021 by an identical person and claimed to have disproven those accusations both times. They stated they had obtained an apology from the previous accuser and a written statement committing to not repeating their behavior in the future and that they will be looking into pursuing appropriate legal action for this case if necessary.


Chuu of Loona

On February 22nd, a netizen posted to an online community claiming that Chuu of Loona, aka Kim Jiwoo had bullied her in middle school, ostracizing her from their peers and frequently starting rumors and leading verbal and cyberbullying campaigns against her and other girls in their class. The accuser also claimed Chuu repeatedly insulted her for the way she smelled and once grabbed her hair and accused her of not washing herself. The accuser also made several posts reiterating her accusations and denying that she was lying.
    BlockBerry Creative made a statement denying the accusations, which can be found here, claiming that the accusations had been completely fabricated and they were preparing legal action. Several other posts emerged from netizens claiming to be former classmates who supported Chuu and denied that she was ever a bully.
    On the 23rd, the accuser posted a handwritten apology letter claiming to have exaggerated her accusations and stated that she and Chuu did not get along in school and she impulsively exaggerated and fabricated her claims of bullying behavior but realized the seriousness of what she’d done when it started gaining media attention. All the original accusation posts have been deleted.


Aisha of Everglow

On February 22nd, Aisha of Everglow aka Heo Yoorim was accused of a bullying when netizen posted to an online community claiming that a female idol she called “A” had bullied her in middle school and the accuser was still suffering from lingering rumors as a result of that bullying. The accuser claimed that A began targeting her when she started dating a male friend and ex-boyfriend of A’s. A began asking the accuser about her sexual experience and started consistently harassing her and calling her a whore, escalating to making increasingly inappropriate and explicit sexual comments in front of their classmates. The accuser described an incident where A grabbed her by the neck and pushed her partway through the classroom window while screaming at the accuser’s then ex-boyfriend outside that the accuser “wanted to f*ck him,” which was heard by many other students and increased harassment and rumors about the accuser. Based on the clues provided, netizens deduced that Aisha was the idol in question.
    Everglow’s agency Yue Hua Entertainment has stated that they confirmed with Aisha that the accusations are false and that she does not know who would make such claims against her. However several other netizens claiming to be former classmates have come forward backing up the original accusations.


Hyuna

On February 22nd, a netizen posted to an online community claiming that Hyuna was a bully when they were in the same class in 5th grade of elementary school, that amongst other things she would call other kids out behind the school building and go around and insult them and slap each of them in the face and take off their glasses and throw them on the ground. The accuser also claimed they were aware there would be no evidence of Hyuna’s behavior since the bullying occurred before major social media networks like Cyworld, Instagram or Kakotalk had existed or become popular and Hyuna scrubbed her early social media accounts before debuting with the Wonder Girls.
   Hyuna’s agency P Nation has not made an official statement but Hyuna has personally denied the accusations in an Instagram post. She claimed she “lacked” experience in school since she began first working at such an early age beginning when she was a child actor at age 8. She further stated that by fifth grade she was a trainee who had to head straight to the company to train after school ended and concluded by stating that she had never slapped or hit anybody. The original accusations have since been deleted.

Sources (summaries and translations my own)
JBG: SBS Enter news, Soojin: Kyunghyang via Daum, MoneyToday via Naver, PHS: Donga Sports, SBS Enter news, EDaily, Newsen via Naver, KDH: Kookmin Ilbo via Daum, Donga, Mingyu: Sports Kyunghyang, Xports News via Daum, Sohye: Hankyung, HeraldPOP via Naver, Hyunjin: HeraldPOP, SBS Enter News, Kihyun: SBS Enter news, Chuu: Chosun Ilbo, Xports News via Naver, MoneyToday, Aisha: StarNews, Xports News via Naver, Hyuna: Hankyung via Naver


I think lot of people have seen most of this stuff elsewhere by this point but I thought it might help to collect it for those who are having trouble finding info. Please let me know if you see any information or details I messed up, there was so much that it kind of started to run together and my brain is feeling pretty fuzzy.

Comments

[marsdiamonds.livejournal.com]

Damn, OP. You did a great job! This is a lot.

[mortkero.livejournal.com]

Wow reading the list is exhausting, what this points to is that Korea as a whole has to do something about school bullying, all of this gives her the impression that issues aren't being dealt with at all when it happens.

[kyulkyung.livejournal.com]

like i said in a previous post, multiple former schoolmates of mingyu's have defended him on pann and the original accuser hasn't made any follow-up posts and deleted the first one 3 hours after posting, still in the early morning before pledis even made a statement. i'm also not sure what this part is about: "The post was accompanied with numerous screenshots of Mingyu apparently using derogatory and insulting language towards and about other students in his Facebook timeline." because as far as i'm aware the facebook screenshots that were posted as proof that the accuser knew mingyu didn't include any of that? here is a link (https://pann-choa.blogspot.com/2021/02/theqoo-seventeen-mingyu-school-violence.html) to the translated pann/theqoo post. also a link (https://pann-choa.blogspot.com/2021/02/theqoo-clarification-of-seventeen.html) to a schoolmate of his who defended him. koreaboo also translated another one. i'm too lazy to look up more links right now cause it's the middle of the night but i believe after the original accusation there was another post on pann that was talking about mingyu being "popular" among other students in anyang, basically implying he was known because of his iljin ways, which the posts by his former schoolmates defending him are referring to.

from what i've observed kcarats, unlike icarats who already decided he's innocent, are remaining neutral for now. they're just trying to collect all the information they have so people are able to draw their own conclusions.

my personal thoughts since i decided wanna write them out after all:

1) pledis' statement was fucking useless, all they did was reiterate things fans had already brought up about the original accusation, like the dates not lining up and yearbooks not matching, even though they specifically said they consulted mingyu about it. it honestly doesn't look like they did to me and i wish we had gotten a statement from mingyu instead but god forbid the members actually take accountabily for once.

2) the second pann post that talked about mingyu being "famous" was weird because it didn't specify what he was famous for, just that people knew him? if anything it seems to have brought down the credibility of the original accusations since the person that wrote it mentioned not knowing mingyu personally and iirc not even attending the same school as him. as far as i'm aware there haven't been any further accusations.

3) schoolmates defending you doesn't necessarily make you innocent, for all we know said schoolmates could've been part of the same clique as mingyu back in the day, but if there are multiple and no more accusations, i'm inclined to at least take them into consideration.

4) if the worst "physical assault" you can come up with is "throwing a bottle cap at you", it'd honestly be better to not mention it? the verbal harassment and extortion would certainly be enough? and yes, even things that might seem trivial to one person could be traumatic to the next but overall i do think his accusations are on the milder side and if they were true, it wouldn't make him irredeemable. you can disagree though.

5) as a seventeen fan i'm obviously biased, i'm not gonna pretend i'm going into this without rose-tinted glasses. personally, i'm choosing to give him the benefit of the doubt. i don't like to harp on the "inconsistencies" of the accusation cause i don't think that gets you anywhere and it must be hard to accurately recall things that happened almost 10 years ago but that paired with everything else makes me a little doubtful about whether the accusations are 100% truthful or not. that being said, if they are true, i'd at least like to think that he's grown.

ANYWAY, if you've read all this and still want to condemn him, that's fine. i'm not posting to to sway people's opinions necessarily, just to lay out all the information i have so people are able to draw their own conclusions. it's also therapeutic for me to get all my thoughts out.

[kyulkyung.livejournal.com]

god i can't believe i wrote this much about a fucking DUDE.. he isn't even my favorite seventeen member (far from it). kpop is a disease.

i deserve to be made fun of for this, go ahead.

[chikage-chan.livejournal.com]

Thank you for compiling the info, I was too lazy to do it myself after the post was deleted so fast and Pledis released the statement.
I totally agree with you that I’d like him to actually say something for himself, but since idols rarely do, I’m disappointed but not surprised /shrug

[kyulkyung.livejournal.com]

there are posts on pann thouroughly summerizing the situation with receipts any everything but i don't think any of them have been translated. op mentioned that former schoolmates came forward to defend other idols but not mingyu so i felt compelled to say something. i'm also still confused about the facebook part so if anyone who speaks korean and read the original post could explain what that is about, i'd be thankful.

what's pissing me off the most are the fans that are more upset with people potentially falsely accusing idols of bullying than idols potentially being bullies? lbr false accusations will be revealed 99% of the time and the celeb in question will be fine, probably even gain sympathy for being falsely accused. there are so few cases where false accusations negatively impacted someone's career (tablo and t-ara are exceptions).

[chikage-chan.livejournal.com]

Fans getting defensive at accusations like this is something I’ll never get. Oppa and unnie don’t need your protection, and you just look dumb trying to “clean the searches”.
Like, accusations could be bullshit or it could be true, but we as the public only have crumbs of information anyway, so what’s the point of taking that as gospel and go digitally terrorize people? Go ask for investigations/reparations instead of just straight up being vile to the parties involved without waiting for any kind of resolution of the issue.

[em-cavey.livejournal.com]

Thanks for adding that info, the additional comments from classmates weren't mentioned in the posts and articles I looked at (I only looked at a few with key information for each case).

Fwiw I read your essay lol. I know you're not necessarily looking for a response but I think I feel pretty similarly to you as a fan, there's a member of my faves on this list too (MX/Kihyun). I also can't pretend I'm truly objective, and I'm actually kind of upset, but I understand that ultimately I just don't really know and there's a good chance that a lot of us fans won't ever get a clear conclusion to this stuff. It's entirely possible that some of this is fabricated or exaggerated, it's entirely possible that some version of it is true. I'm also inclined, however foolishly, to give Kihyun the benefit of the doubt but I'd be incredibly disappointed in him if he really did hurt kids (I don't give a shit abt drinking/smoking like wtf it's not the 80s). It'd change how I see him a bit and I'd hope to god he'd do something to take make amends. But I also believe, again however foolishly, that he's a decent person now and I personally don't think what he did as a kid is beyond forgiveness but I also have no argument if anyone disagrees. So yeah, just wanted to share that I can empathize.

[kyulkyung.livejournal.com]

thank you for the response. i think a lot of fans feel this way about bullying rumors since it's really hard to prove one's guilt or innocence, especially if the accusations only come from a single anonymous source without a real identity attached to it. what also bothers me a little about the ~woke~ side of international kpop fandom is people lumping all the accusations together when some are (imo) much more damning than others. since writing my original comment another very lengthy post has emerged on pann attempting to defend mingyu and even knetz seem to be taking his side now seeing how there have been no further accusations, only people defending him. but i feel like most people who don't keep up as closely with his case as i do wouldn't know any of this? places like pannchoa aren't translating those posts either.

aisha from everglow is another fave of mine but her allegations are a lot more damning since multiple peope have come forward and, as far as i'm aware, there hasn't been anyone defending her? neither she, nor her company have attempted to seriously refute the claims either, which is why i'm actually more inclined to believe the accusations in her case, as opposed to mingyu's. do i think she deserves career ruined because of it? no, but i think she should apologize or at least come up with a better defense because as of right now it's not looking good for her.

[kyulkyung.livejournal.com]

well a much worse accusation against has come forward against mingyu which changes my entire outlook on his case LOL

[foxmadgirl.livejournal.com]

really disappointed with everything regarding aisha. i just got into everglow w their latest comeback too
inexcusable and the agency’s statement is not enough for me

[formisscaulker.livejournal.com]

thank you for this post!

[mishiro-san.livejournal.com]

Thanks OP for condensing it since it was hard to keep track of all of them.

[myungung.livejournal.com]

thanks OP for compiling these! it's very helpful to get a summary of what's been happening since I didn't know about a lot of the other accusations.

I think my greatest gripe about these reveals is the harassment and doubling down from "fans", which doesn't help the situation at all. like it's one thing to report misinformation, another to make it a separate bullying incident for your faves.

[blood-pressures.livejournal.com]

thank you op!
i also heard there were some accusations against a dude from the boyz. is anyone familiar with it? i was about to get into the group, but idk know

[dbsk-2pm.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Sunwoo is one of the youngest members - there's an article about it (TW for dating violence and harrassment) here (https://www.koreaboo.com/news/boyz-sunwoo-sexual-harassment-date-violence-bullying/). The agency has denied it all here (https://www.koreaboo.com/news/theboyz-sunwoo-bullying-assault-allegations-statement-denied/). It's pretty awful...

Honestly, I watched I think almost all of their Mafia games and that kind of helped + the RTK performances and BTS. I think they also have a show, but I didn't get into it (only seen some funny compilations on YT).

[blood-pressures.livejournal.com]

damn... okay thank you for the response

[benihime99.livejournal.com]

So I guess it's story time day
I have been on the receiving end on bullying, and it's not something I like to revisit. I did NOT make me stronger, it left me with scars and I have difficulties trusting people.

But I've also seen what fake allegations can do to someone and that's where story time comes in.
I'm from a small town, my classmates were the same from daycare to the end of high school (and yes I mean classmate, not schoolmate - it was that small)
We barely got new people, but second year of high school we got a few transfer students, and that one girl had it for my bestie since day one. At some point she started saying my best friend was bullying her. No one, not even school officials, believed her. But these were the a days of facebook, and she started posting shit online, so people from other cities and other high schools bought into the story because they didn't know my friend (or that girl). My friend started receiving death threats, menacing phone calls (since the girl had released her personal info) and so on. At some point the cops had to get involved because her dads car was destroyed.

Turn out the girl's boyfriend was two timing her with my friend without her knowledge (different high schools made that easier), and instead of taking it on the douche bag, she took it on my friend.

TL;DR: as someone who has been bullied I always want to support the victims, but as someone who's seen what fake allegations can do, I also take those with a grain of salt.

Maybe more people are comfortable coming out because of the exposure, strength in numbers, but idk, this is why I usually stay clear of these posts

[benihime99.livejournal.com]

NOw moving on to the fans
Stop fucking harassing people!!! it's not that hard.
Shut your mouth and sit on your hands

[chikage-chan.livejournal.com]

I’m really sorry you went through that experience. I was never bullied, but I had to physically protect my brother from his bullies multiple times during middle school, and I know how traumatic the experience was for him. My heart goes out to you.

At the same time, like you did, I also saw both in high school and university how false accusations can be harmful, and how some people really can just make up stories and manipulate others with those.

On the internet it’s really easy to take sides and attack others under a cloak of anonymity, but what people should be doing instead is to ask for investigations. We don’t know shit about either the people who are making these accusations or the idols accused, so I don’t get how people can vouche for the actions of either part.

I particularly think that instead of a witch-hunt people should campaign for schools/the government/families to be more active in their policies and actions against bullying and in how the school system/society makes it easier for this kind of issue to happen. And if cases of bullying happen, they should be thoroughly investigated at that time, the victim should receive all the care necessary, and the perpetrators should be punished and made to understand what they did is wrong and why that is so, specially if they are young children. It’s easy to cancel these idols, but just this doesn’t bring any change by itself.

[benihime99.livejournal.com]

YES!!!
Bullying is a huge issue (not just in SK) an I do wish we could focus on creating a better environment for kids insted of either going full witch hunt or the oppa did't mean it route
There is this environment, this pressure put onto kid, that enables bullies, it literally give them the opportunity to bully
and that's the core issue
We need to educate people

[em-cavey.livejournal.com]

I agree a lot with your last point. Witch-hunting is actually pretty counterproductive imo and I really wish Korea could develop a more nuanced discourse about things like this, rather than just sledgehammering that bullying is bad and bullies are bad people. Of course bullying is bad. But it’s also a very complex issue and has a lot of causes and a wide spectrum of behaviors. With regards to celebs, if a public figure admitting they had anything to do with any kind of school violence is tantamount to career suicide because of the utterly black-and-white response they’ll get, naturally no one is going to publicly acknowledge, apologize and atone for their behavior if they can help it. Having examples in the media discuss why and how these things are done and why and how we can possibly do better would imo be really beneficial to more understanding of the core issues. I’m not at all saying all bullies are deserving or even capable of redemption, and no individual victim is obligated to forgive anyone. But as a larger society, unthinking condemnation and excommunication of the causes of a social problem don't actually help improve anything.

[em-cavey.livejournal.com]

I’m sorry that happened to you and to your friend :(

I agree with you, it's obviously important to be sensitive to the potential real victims of these cases (and there almost definitely are some) but I also have some experience with both bullying and fake accusations of bullying in Korea and I think it makes sense to be somewhat skeptical of stuff like this, at least at first glance until more information might come out. People can be incredibly irresponsible and vindictive online, especially anonymously, there are a lot of deranged people out there when it comes to celebs/idols, and bullying is an easy and very powerful accusation to make in Korean society.

Fans should never assume that celebs are innocent off the bat (and the grossness of harassing possible victims goes without saying) but in cases there’s like this, there’s some danger to assuming guilt that’s also worth keeping in mind.

[gathyou.livejournal.com]

All these news are very upsetting and I haven't read the descriptions for each, but thank you OP for this post.
I wonder how these accusations will go. There have been true and false accusations of bullying against idols in the past, so I'm always taking these news with caution. However, we've seen how people coming forward with their stories help others share their own stories. I hope every accusation is taken seriously, even if it turns out false/exagerated, and that we hear about the outcomes.
Bullying overall, and not just in SK, needs to be brought up and discussed. It's too often swept under the rug.

[newyorkangst.livejournal.com]

I know stans being the worst is old news, but stans on twitter running to report accounts even talking about this is disgusting

[tsubaki874.livejournal.com]

Out of all of these accusations I think I'm most inclined to believe Hyuna is innocent. I feel like it would be pretty damning of her to claim she was too busy to bully outside of school since there would be records of her schedule as a child actress/trainee.

That being said, I'm only saying this because some of the bullying allegations have been proven false. I guess I'm just hoping this one is false since Hyuna point-blank responded to it rather than letting her company speak for her like most of the others? This whole situation turns my insides in a knot and makes me think back to being verbally bullied. I can't even imagine being physically bullied like this I really hope the victims speaking their truths get the justice they deserve. I also hope those making false accusations get reprimanded because it takes away from those who truly are suffering.