Content Warning
HYBE has responded to the alleged victim’s statement.
The alleged victim of LE SSERAFIM Kim Garam’s bullying spoke on the allegations through her legal counsel.
The victim, going by Yoo Eunseo in the statement, mentioned that it is true she had truly been bullied by Kim Garam. Yoo Eunseo’s legal counsel also stated that the results of a separate investigation that spread online regarding the allegations were true and that Kim Garam had indeed bullied her.
The victim (henceforth named using the pseudonym Yoo Eunseo) was a victim of school violence from Kim Garam and her friends from late April to early May 2018. She transferred to a new school one to two weeks after the incidents, unable to withstand the continuous group violence.
On June 4, 2018, the School Violence Countermeasures Committee was held and Kim Garam, a student who had committed school violence, was punished with six hours of special education pursuant to Article 17-1-5 of the Act on the Prevention and Countermeasure of School Violence. Her parents received five hours of special education in accordance with paragraph nine of the same article. Yoo Eunseo, a victim of school violence, received psychological counseling and advice in accordance with Article 16-1-1 of the same act.
The victim, Yoo Eunseo, voluntarily transferred because she could not withstand the continued bullying but she suffered from malicious rumors, such as ‘Yoo Eunseo was in the wrong, that’s why she was forced to transfer.’
— Yoo Eunseo’s legal counsel
She alleged that the online harassment became worse once HYBE stated Kim Garam was a victim and not the perpetrator. In addition, many accused her of authoring the post out of jealousy, even going as far as uploading her real-life pictures and telling her to “prepare to dig your own grave.”
Then a post on Nate Pann exposing Kim Garam was made, and the content noted that Kim Garam was well known for her poor attitude that those in the surrounding schools also knew. It claimed that if there was a student she didn’t like, she would gather other students to pick on and curse at that student together. The individual who made the post was also a victim of school bullying, that’s what the post meant. Including the post mentioned just now, several posts have been uploaded pointing out Kim Garam as a perpetrator of school violence.
Perhaps it’s because Yoo Eunseo was a victim at the hands of Kim Garam, that there was a comment made that it was Yoo Eunseo who made the post exposing Kim Garam as the perpetrator, but Yoo Eunseo was receiving messages through her social media accounts saying that she is maliciously slandering Kim Garam or that she is an orc who was just jealous of pretty girls. More comments such as ‘Everything [on her face] was redone, but she’s still ugly,’ ‘She’s slandering because she’s jealous,’ were also received. But worse, some messages and posts even shared photos of Yoo Eunseo, blurring her out and threatening her with the message ‘Thanks for taking care of the mosaic. If you stalk LE SSERAFIM, you better get your grave ready.’
Yoo Eunseo suffered extreme anxiety and fear at the thought that someone may have the original photo and that someone, whether it’s a blackmailer or another person making threats, would disseminate it through the internet to anyone, anywhere, at any time. She even suffered from panic attacks from time to time, where it was difficult for her to breathe because she felt like her heart was about to burst.
— Yoo Eunseo’s legal counsel
Yoo Eunseo alleged that she had asked HYBE to recant their statement and apologize to her; however, HYBE dismissed her requests, and Kim Garam continued promoting as a member of LE SSERAFIM. She stated that due to the abuse, she has submitted her intentions to drop out of school and even tried to take her own life.
The victim did not ask for any compensation, but she urged for the deletion of the statement that was different from the truth. [She wanted them] to make a statement based on the facts, an apology, and simply just the truth.
But HYBE did not reply to the certified mail, and Kim Garam’s entertainment activities are proceeding as if nothing has happened.
Yoo Eunseo, who could not endure the extreme anxiety and fear caused by the second round of attacks made on her, eventually attempted suicide. This led to her and her parents deciding for Yoo Eunseo to stop her studies and expressed their intention to have her drop out of school. Currently, she is being treated by a psychiatrist without attending school for the past seven weeks before finalizing the withdrawal process. Her mother has stopped all of her personal activities to take care of her and to prevent her from attempting to take her life again.
— Yoo Eunseo’s legal counsel
According to the victim’s lawyer, “For the sake of finding an amicable solution, we have omitted descriptions of the abuse she wielded against the victim. However, if HYBE does not change its stance that it is Kim Garam who is the victim, we will be forced to disclose the findings in the special investigation in its entirety, as well as the victim statements given during the investigations as well as descriptions of the heinous abuse that was not included. Furthermore, we will release the curse-filled, threatening text messages that the abuser had sent to the victim to lure her to where the abuse took place.”
Read the full statement below:
Regarding the controversy related to school violence by LE SSERAFIM’s Kim Garam and HYBE’s position, our legal firm will express the victim’s position based on the victim and her guardian’s statements and the report of the school violence committee overseen by the head of Gyeongin Middle School, and the messages from Kim Garam to the victim.
1. The authenticity of the notice of the results from the School Violence Countermeasures Committee
The notice of the results of the School Violence Countermeasures Committee, which there was controversy over its authenticity, is consistent with the results submitted by our client, which shows the seal of the head of Gyeongin Middle School.
2. The details of the incidents.
The victim (henceforth named using the pseudonym Yoo Eunseo) was a victim of school violence from Kim Garam and her friends from late April to early May 2018. She transferred to a new school one to two weeks after the incidents, unable to withstand the continuous group violence.
On June 4, 2018, the School Violence Countermeasures Committee was held and Kim Garam, a student who had committed school violence, was punished with six hours of special education pursuant to Article 17-1-5 of the Act on the Prevention and Countermeasure of School Violence. Her parents received five hours of special education in accordance with paragraph nine of the same article. Yoo Eunseo, a victim of school violence, received psychological counseling and advice in accordance with Article 16-1-1 of the same act.
The victim Yoo Eunseo voluntarily transferred because she could not withstand the continued bullying but she suffered from malicious rumors such as ‘Yoo Eunseo was in the wrong, that’s why she was forced to transfer.’
Then four years later, Kim Garam was revealed as a member of LE SSERAFIM in April 2022, and friends who knew about the incident contacted Yoo Eunseo and expressed their anger, saying ‘How can the perpetrator of school violence become a celebrity?’ Due to the constant media attention, Kim Garam was in the eyes of the media, which stressed out Yoo Eunseo.
Then a post on Nate Pann exposing Kim Garam was made, and the content noted that Kim Garam was well known for her poor attitude that those in the surrounding schools also knew, and if there was a student she didn’t like, she would gather other students to pick on and curse at that student together. The individual who made the post was also a victim of school bullying, that’s what the post meant. Including the post mentioned just now, several posts have been uploaded pointing out Kim Garam as a perpetrator of school violence.
Perhaps it’s because Yoo Eunseo was a victim at the hands of Kim Garam, that there was a comment made that it was Yoo Eunseo who made the post exposing Kim Garam as the perpetrator, but Yoo Eunseo was receiving messages through her social media accounts saying that she is maliciously slandering Kim Garam or that she is an orc who was just jealous of pretty girls. More comments such as ‘Everything [on her face] was redone, but she’s still ugly,’ ‘She’s slandering cause she’s jealous,’ were also received. But worse, some messages and posts even shared photos of Yoo Eunseo, blurring her out and threatening her with the message ‘Thanks for taking care of the mosaic. If you stalk LE SSERAFIM, you better get your grave ready.
Yoo Eunseo suffered extreme anxiety and fear at the thought that someone may have the original photo and that someone, whether it’s a blackmailer or another person making threats, would disseminate it through the internet to anyone, anywhere, at any time. She even suffered from panic attacks from time to time, where it was difficult for her to breathe because she felt like her heart was about to burst.
3. Sending the certified contents to HYBE and getting no response
At the time, HYBE had said that the suspicions made against Kim Garam were an issue of malicious slander by cleverly editing what happened with her friends and that Kim Garam was a victim of school violence.
With Yoo Eunseo being criticized and threatened by unidentified people for ‘slandering Kim Garam,’ she was indiscriminately attacked for the second time, and it intensified due to HYBE’s statement. Yoo Eunseo cried and refused to go to school, saying ‘I think this will only end when I die,’ and Yoo Eun Seo’s guardian sent a criminal complaint to our law firm, entrusting us with sending the victim’s position and the comments that stated Yoo Eunseo posted an article exposing Kim Garam as certified contents.
We have filed a criminal complaint against those who have falsely posted comments about Yoo Eunseo’s exposing Kim Garam at the Seoul Guro Police Station, and sent the certified mail to HYBE’s offices at Hangang-ro 42, Yongsan Trade Center on April 20, 2022, with the parcel number 310410003715.
The above-certified mail details the abuse committed by Kim Garam to Yoo Eunseo, a petition sharing Yoo Eunseo’s feelings, and the results of the School Violence Countermeasures Committee, where Kim Garam was noted as a perpetrator of school violence.
The victim did not ask for any compensation, but she urged for the deletion of the statement that was different from the truth, to make a statement based on the facts, an apology, and simply just the truth.
But HYBE did not reply to the certified mail, and Kim Garam’s entertainment activities are proceeding as if nothing has happened.
Yoo Eunseo, who could not endure the extreme anxiety and fear caused by the second round of attacks made on her, eventually attempted suicide. This led to her and her parents deciding for Yoo Eunseo to stop her studies and expressed their intention to have her drop out of school. Currently, she is being treated by a psychiatrist without attending school for the past seven weeks before finalizing the withdrawal process. Her mother has stopped all of her personal activities to take care of her and to prevent her from attempting to take her life again.
4. Refutation of the position that the allegations of school violence are slander against Kim Garam
The reason why Yoo Eunseo’s guardian decided to file a criminal complaint against Kim Garam’s school violence and sent the certified mail to HYBE without filing a civil complaint is that Yoo Eunseo and her guardian wanted to stop a second offense more than receive compensation.
However, when HYBE ignored the victim’s request to stop a second offense and when the results of the School Violence Countermeasures Committee became a problem, they repeated their statement that they will take legal action. Yoo Eunseo’s parents couldn’t tell their child to just endure the pain anymore, so they decided to reveal her situation through our law firm.
In this statement, detailed descriptions of the school violence that Kim Garam committed against Yoo Eunseo were omitted in hopes of an amicable resolution to the problem. HYBE did not provide a genuine apology to the victim, instead of saying that the allegations are slander and Kim Garam is the victim. If HYBE continues to maintain this position, we are considering releasing the full report from the School Violence Countermeasures Committee, including the summary of the case, as well as the victim statements given during the investigations as well as descriptions of the heinous abuse that was not included. Furthermore, we will release the curse-filled, threatening text messages that the abuser had sent to the victim to lure her to where the abuse took place.
5. Wrapping up
We must ponder what answers we can give to a student in a reality that makes it impossible for her to move on from the memories of her abuse and is yelling out, ‘This will only end if I die.’
It might be that for the abuser, this was done as a joke because it was the victim’s fault, and maybe this is natural in the course of a friendship.
However, to a student whose friends and school are her world, we must be prudent that it will be impossible for the victim’s abuse to be washed away or compensated for.
Only through the acknowledgment of the abuse and repentance can we prevent our children from being the next victims.
— Yoo Eunseo’s Legal Counsel
