A Former Classmate Of aespa Karina (Yoo Jimin) Refutes Malicious Rumors In Light Of Controversy

As soon as it was revealed that Karina (birth name Yoo Jimin) was one of the members of SM Entertainment‘s upcoming girl group, aespa, a past controversy came to light leading to malicious comments by netizens.

Earlier this year, Yoo Jimin was involved in a controversy for allegedly insulting various senior male idols, including EXO, NCT, and BTS.

Although SM Entertainment denied that the screenshots shared were real, the fact that Yoo Jimin’s stage name “Karina” was included in the alleged old chat messages led fans to believe that the screenshots were indeed real.

In light of the controversy, one netizen stepped up to refute the malicious rumors by revealing her own personal story with Karina. The former classmate, identified as Ms. A, claimed Karina was the one who saved her from being bullied.

I got bullied a lot in middle school. But Jimin was good to me. I’m posting this because I want to help her out in return.

— Ms. A

Ms. A claimed that Yoo Jimin was so widely loved that whenever she was next to her, the bullying stopped.

We weren’t even that close, so whenever she defended me, I wondered why she was doing so much to help me.

— Ms. A

Ms. A explained that while they were never that close, Yoo Jimin stayed by her side after becoming her desk partner in class. She reflected back on the many good memories they shared together.

She would sit next to me, and we both loved IU, so we promised to go to karaoke together. We went to the same after-school academy, so she bought me food one time. She’s a really good person.

— Ms. A

According to Ms. A, not only did Yoo Jimin protect her in class, but she made sure she wouldn’t feel left out on her birthday via Facebook.

At the time, it was a trend to wish your friends happy birthday on Facebook. But I had no friends, so Jimin flooded my feed with photos and wished me a happy birthday.

— Ms. A

Ms. A concluded that Yoo Jimin is a really warm person and expressed her wishes to repay her for her kindness.

She’s a cute and kind girl. She never said anything bad like the rumors claim, and she was a warm person who stopped other people from cussing people out. I’m posting this because it’s unfortunate to see her being attacked by false rumors.

— Ms. A

Ms. A shared a graduation certificate of the middle school they attended as well as an additional photograph as proof of her claims.