Kim Sohye’s Alleged Bullying Victim Apologizes And Admits The Rumors Were False — Asks For Leniency
An update has been made regarding former I.O.I member Kim Sohye and the bullying allegations made against her earlier this year. On July 26, her agency S&P Entertainment released a statement about the rumors and the current status on the situation.
S&P Entertainment stated that following Kim Sohye’s debut, an anonymous netizen began creating “malicious rumors alleging that they were a victim of school violence.” As the allegations began to spread online, S&P Entertainment declared that they would be taking legal action against those who spread baseless rumors. In their most recent update, the agency shared that following an investigation, “the netizen responsible for spreading the rumors has been identified.”
Kim Sohye’s label continued by sharing that the person responsible for posting the false rumor online admitted that they uploaded it “out of curiosity without checking the facts. When the police investigation revealed that the rumors were indeed false, the netizen appealed for leniency while submitting an apology letter.”
The label’s statement continued by revealing that the anonymous netizen not only uploaded the rumors without confirming the facts, but that they were instead one of the “school violence perpetrators that Kim Sohye fell victim to back when they attended middle school together.”
S&P Entertainment concluded their statement by sharing that the netizen responsible “admitted to their wrongdoing, while also admitting that they posted out of jealousy when they were young. They submitted a handwritten apology sharing their repentance and regret.”
Back in February 2021, dozens of South Korea’s top stars began getting accused of being alleged bullies by anonymous netizens online. Actors, idols and other prominent figures started to receive immense backlash from the public due to the school violence rumors and amongst the dozens was none other than Kim Sohye.
And while the idol-turned-actress denied the allegations at the time of the occurrence, she has since remained out of the spotlight due to the ongoing criticisms.
You can read S&P Entertainment’s full statement down below.
Following Kim Sohye’s debut, an anonymous netizen began writing malicious rumors online about their alleged experiences as a victim of school violence. In the course of our legal action, we were able to identify the person responsible for the rumors. The person responsible admitted that they did not fact check the rumors and that they uploaded the allegations out of curiosity. When the police investigation concluded that the content was indeed false, the person responsible appealed for leniency and submitted an apology letter.
It was through this police investigation that we were able to identify the person responsible for the malicious rumors. The suspect went to the police station where they admitted that the online posts were false. It was additionally revealed that the suspect, who claimed to be a victim of bullying, was rather one of Kim Sohye’s school violence perpetrators back when they attended middle school together.
The suspect admitted to their wrongdoing, while also admitting that they posted out of jealousy when they were young. They submitted a handwritten apology sharing their repentance and regret.
In a separate case from the one detailed above, when she [Kim Sohye] was in middle school, she had a quarrel over a misunderstanding with a different student. While this incident led to the opening of a school violence committee, she met with the student to apologize to them. They were able to resolve their misunderstandings with one another after having a conversation.
While the student above was not responsible for writing the malicious rumors, we sincerely apologize for the damage and discomfort they received by being involuntarily brought up through this recent incident.
She [Kim Sohye] will look back and reflect on her actions from when she was younger. She will work even harder to show an improved version of herself as an adult.
We will continue to take legal action without leniency against malicious posts that spread baseless rumors, slander, or sexual harassment towards our actress.
Thank you.
— S&P Entertainment
