(G)I-DLE Soojin’s Alleged Aunt Comes To The Idol’s Defense In Light Of The Ongoing Bullying Allegations
Content Warning
Following the bullying allegations surrounding (G)I-DLE‘s Soojin, a woman claiming to be the idol’s aunt, with a NAVER Blog ID @흥하자, has come forward to address the issue in a lengthy blog post and responses to the blog post’s comments.
Regarding the first point brought to light by Schoolmate B, the alleged aunt said the accuser had been the one who threatened Soojin and detailed what took place.
The accuser (Schoolmate B’s older sister) wrote the first post about the fight and bullying between Schoolmate B [and my niece]. But on the day the accuser and my niece met, she streamed a live broadcast and talked about that fight over the phone. The accuser admitted she cursed at my niece, as well as threatened to find and kill Soojin. The accuser said she took a cab to go see Soojin in person too, but once that became an issue, she said that didn’t happen.
The accuser also said that it was hard to listen to my niece’s songs. But that day, she did the choreography to my niece’s song. This also became an issue, and people on Nate Pann started talking. Then the accuser deleted her Instagram account and continued on her blog instead.
— Soojin’s Alleged Aunt
The alleged aunt also claimed that some individuals — who have accused Soojin of school bullying — weren’t even “real.”
Another accuser made nine accounts, pretending to be nine different people, and kept sharing posts that accused Soojin. Only when the internet started questioning some of the posts, that person tried to make excuses for a bit before completely disappearing. There is also an accuser who claimed to be Soojin’s schoolmate… but who turned out to be a 38-year-old man.
— Soojin’s Alleged Aunt
Regarding the specific accuser who said Soojin “scribbled” on the “padded jacket,” the alleged aunt pointed out that the posts became deleted immediately after questions were raised. She criticized how quickly the possession of yearbook photos got accepted as “proof” that her niece was allegedly a school bully.
The padded jacket accuser’s posts did not make sense and once questioned about it, they got deleted. It’s scary how people believe anything when the proof is only a picture of a photo album. The way some of the comments are captured and served as evidence is surprising and horrifying.
— Soojin’s Alleged Aunt
The alleged aunt then revealed that Soojin’s family had to resort to moving out of the neighborhood to protect their privacy and safety, recalling a moment when Soojin couldn’t even step out of the car to enter their home.
Now that NAVER’s real-time keyword searches are gone, people who don’t follow this matter will forever remember my niece as a bully. The issue has not yet been resolved, but I’m writing to let everyone know the updates.
My niece had come home a while ago and could not get out of the car. So my sister’s family decided to sell their house and move out of town. They were born and raised in Bongdam area, but they have to leave it now.
I learned that the world believes hearsay way too easily. Everyone believed the posts because it came with a yearbook photo. But will they believe in [my niece’s] posts if [she] also includes a yearbook photo? The least people can do is simply wait. In fact, I’d be grateful if people could please listen to both sides of the story. When they don’t line up, then say, ‘Look, one of them is not telling the truth.’
— Soojin’s Alleged Aunt
In response to one of the comments under her blog post, the alleged aunt shared her views on how accusatory situations such as the one surrounding her niece severely affects idols’ mental health.
I think I finally understand why some celebrities choose to take their own lives. It’s because if they make one mistake, everyone comes at them with hateful and malicious comments — criticizing their looks, their personalities, and even their families without any hesitation. And even if the accusations don’t come with any evidence, people only believe in one side of the story. They don’t bother listening to the other side.
— Soojin’s Alleged Aunt
Finally, the alleged aunt expressed great concern over how Soojin is doing and begged the public to give her niece a chance to reveal the truth.
Who doesn’t have fights with their friends in middle school? We don’t know if there was bullying involved or not; nothing has been confirmed for sure. So please keep my niece some time too. Believe that she would never.
And of course I want to protect my niece at all costs but I can’t, because there isn’t much I can do. She has her agency and her groupmates, so I can’t do much for her at the moment. But she has been crying all day and hasn’t been eating well. It breaks my heart.
Soojin was welcomed to this world as my first niece. I remember the work she put in to become a singer. And at the end of this all, if my niece turns out to be someone I didn’t know — someone who can really slap and bully her friends… Then I will welcome all the criticism from you for having said this.
— Soojin’s Alleged Aunt
As of now, neither Soojin nor her agency has confirmed the alleged aunt’s identity.