4th Gen Idol Exposes Members For Bullying Her To The Point Of Hospitalization, Despite The Company Knowing

Ex-Hi-L‘s Soojung revealed the alleged bullying she endured while in the group.

Recently, Hi-L has been a point of focus regarding their confusing disbandment. After the group’s accounts were rebranded to New-L, many fans were left confused by what had occurred.

On August 9, the New-L X account made a shocking claim to explain the change, alleging that Hi-L’s disbandment was due to “discord” in the group.

Company Claims Discord And Inappropriate Behavior Within Group Caused Disbandment — Members Clapback

Initially, these claims were met with skepticism, as several of the group’s members shared images of their group promotions and outside activities together. However, following Soojung’s reveal, these and the company’s claims have been seen in a new light.

In a series of Instagram posts, Soojung shared several redacted court documents detailing what she allegedly experienced while in the group and the company’s knowledge of it occurring.

The defendant initially claimed in the complaint that they were ostracized by other group members. However, in their first written statement, when the plaintiff provided objective evidence such as recordings to prove this claim, the defendant changed their position in the statement dated March 13, 2024, saying, ‘Such incidents occurred, but it was unavoidable.’[…]

…while admitting that they were aware of the defendant being ostracized among the members, they still suggested that the defendant should continue their activities despite having fallen into depression. Ultimately, based on the excerpts of the recording provided by the plaintiff, it is evident that the plaintiff was aware of both the fact that the defendant was being ostracized and that the defendant’s physical and mental health were in very poor condition…

— Court Documents

The court documents claim that due to the other members Soojung eventually moved out of the dorms, with the stress of the situation leading to several health issues, including depression and others that required hospitalization.

As previously mentioned, the defendant was the only member of the group to participate in the program Youth Star and it was from that point on that they began to be ostracized by the other members. The defendant was not included in the group’s schedule shared among the other members. At the time, the schedule for the group Hi-L was communicated to the group leader by the company, but due to the ostracism, the defendant left the dormitory out of exhaustion and began living alone at their own expense.

Naturally, the defendant did not receive any schedule updates from the other members. As a result, the defendant had to go through the trouble of contacting the plaintiff company directly to find out the group’s activity schedule, which was both inconvenient and untimely. Consequently, the defendant’s mental stress worsened to the point where it became impossible for them to continue their singing career, reaching a severe state as evidenced by the medical diagnosis and hospitalization records submitted as Evidence No. 1.

— Court Documents

Soojung was the only member to leave the group before their disbandment, announcing her departure in January 2023.