Pledis Entertainment Denies Accusations Against SEVENTEEN’s Mingyu

[Mikasa Ackerman]

Today, (210122) an anonymous post was written by a netizen who claimed to have attended the same elementary school and middle school as Mingyu. She posted an online accusation of Mingyu being a school bully during middle school.

Translation:
"First, during my first year in middle school, there was a time where scary kids + unnies would call me over on my way to school to steal and verbally assault me. I don’t know if it was because they were bored or needed an outlet to let out their frustrations but they started lightly assaulting me, like verbal abuse or shoving my head. I was so scared that I cried. ***gyu would laugh at me getting bullied, and he even threw coke lids at my face from 4-5 meters away. When it hit me, he would laugh even harder. I still remember explicitly what he said that day."

She claimed that after Mingyu passed the agency audition and became a trainee, he took her to money and used it to pay for transportation when he went to the practice room.
"And I think it was during our last year of middle school when Kim ***gyu got cast in front of school by Pl*** and passed his auditions. He sent me one text message. We weren’t in the same class so I guess he went around asking for my number (not just my number but the numbers of people outside of his bully group).
He said he was going to the practice room but didn’t have money to pay for it. He messaged me to gather ₩5,000 KRW (~$4.50 USD) by tomorrow. Anyone who was born in 1996, 97, 98, 99 can agree that the bullies and sunbaes were scarier than parents and teachers at the time. I couldn’t help but tell him yes. He replied, ‘Once you have the money, don’t come to my classroom but call or text me instead. Don’t come to my classroom.’ I guess this is when he started worrying about his image. I was only able to scrape up about ₩3,300 KRW and tried to send him a text during break. But I didn’t have enough [funds] to send a text so I personally went to his classroom.
He was so surprised when he saw me. I took me up to the stairwell and got mad at me, saying
‘I told you not to come find me. Why did you come? How much did you get? This is all you have? I get it, leave.’
I remember this was all he said to me. Can you tell how much his words (anger) impacted me if I can remember it so well to this point? About a year later, he probably felt troubled by this and sent me a birthday message on Facebook even though we weren’t Facebook friends. I never changed my account so I still have that message."

The original post regarding this situation has also been deleted from the online community.

Pledis Entertainment stated,
"We have confirmed with Mingyu himself. The claims made against him are groundless and obviously false.
It took time for us to check the facts thoroughly. There is a yearbook picture which the accuser posted, but it is completely different from Mingyu’s yearbook picture. Also, unlike the accusation which stated Mingyu began his traineeship in 9th grade, he actually started training in 8th grade.
The post has been deleted. We simply don’t understand the intentions the accuser had."

Full Article

 

[Mikasa Ackerman]

Here is the translation of the alleged victim’s full post:
"I didn’t want to get mentioned in a bunch of places, and I felt that it was useless to fight against a big corporation, so I had decided to just live on and repress it for the rest of my life. But after reading the comments about Soo***’s school bullying posts—about how everyone should come forth before N*ver changed their search engines—I decided to speak up.
I went to the same elementary and middle school as Kim ***gyu. I was just an average student, while Kim **gyu was popular for playing soccer well and being one of the bullies.
First, during my first year in middle school, there was a time whre scary kids + unnies would call me over on my way to school to steal and verbally assault me. I don’t know if it was because they were bored or needed an outlet to let out their frustrations but they started lightly assaulting me, like verbal abuse or shoving my head. I was so scared that I cried. ***gyu would laugh at me getting bullied, and he even threw coke lids at my face from 4-5 meters away. When it hit me, he would laugh even harder. I still remember explicitly what he said that day.
‘Sh*t it’s f*cking funny’
From what I remember, he started smoking since the first year of middle school. They were a group of about 20 people, both boys and girls. I think there was a friend among them that even the Se****** fans know about. Her name was Choi ** who went to Sook***** University.. She was a very pretty friend. Anyways they would always ditch school during lunchtime or break time, and I would often see them getting scolded by the teachers before or after school.
I don’t even have to say anything about drinking since bullies back then prided themselves on drinking.. I heard a lot about it.
And I think it was during our last year of middle school when Kim ***gyu got cast in front of the school by Pl*** and passed his auditions. He sent me one text message. We weren’t in the same class so I guess he went around asking for my number (not just my number but the numbers of people outside of his bully group). He said he was going to the practice room but didn’t have money to pay for it. He messaged me to gather ₩5,000 KRW (~$4.50 USD) by tomorrow. Anyone who was born in 1996, 97, 98, 99 can agree that the bullies and sunbaes were scarier than parents and teachers at the time. I couldn’t help but tell him yes. He replied, ‘Once you have the money, don’t come to my classroom but call or text me instead. Don’t come to my classroom.’ I guess this is when he started worrying about his image. I was only able to scrape up about ₩3,300 KRW and tried to send him a text during break. But I didn’t have enough [funds] to send a text so I personally went to his classroom.
He was so surprised when he saw me. I took me up to the stairwell and got mad at me, saying
‘I told you not to come find me. Why did you come? How much did you get? This is all you have? I get it, leave.’
I remember this was all he said to me. Can you tell how much his words (anger) impacted me if I can remember it so well to this point? About a year later, he probably felt troubled by this and sent me a birthday message on Facebook even though we weren’t Facebook friends. I never changed my account so I still have that message.
For those who can’t believe me, I’ll upload photos of Kim ***gyu’s old Facebook page. I was trying to upload a video but this page doesn’t allow me to. I’ll upload our yearbook too if you ask.
And if Cyworld ever gets rebooted, I’ll add in more comments and photos."

 

[Mikasa Ackerman]

Update:
An ex-schoolmate Mingyu steps up to defend him against bullying accusations. He/she claimed that they were from both the same elementary school and middle school and was in the same commencement year as him. A photo of their yearbook from middle school was published as proof with a handwritten note.

The translation of the OP's post:
"School violence??? That’s ridiculous. Fellow alumni would know but even if it was true that he was abit of an iljin, he was close with everyone in the school. It’s not really that he was close to those people that he hung out with them but he just generally liked people and was close with everyone.
I’m saying this in case it becomes an issue but our middle school was such a loser school that even the iljins in our school were just people who hung around in the neighborhood park after classes and shortened their skirts a little for the girls. I’m also a loser but I was also Cyworld friends with those kids that played around. If Kim Mingyu is considered a bully then I would be too.
Other than people he really didn’t know, he was comfortable and friendly to everyone and he could strike up a conversation with everyone. His social skills were good and even if you didn’t know him, if you met him in the corridors or the field by chance and spoke to him, you’d be good friends with him soon enough. That’s how kind and friendly he was.
As to what kind of kid he was, he would eat everyday during lunch then play soccer and futsal on the field. He only wore his PE uniform everyday and he was a normal kid. After he became a trainee, he only went for morning classes. I’m not close to him and he probably forgot about me now but I was so surprised seeing an article on him that I came quickly to explain."

(Iljins in South Korea are usually known as delinquents, which includes kids who play around after school and possibly smoke or drink underaged.)

 

[Mikasa Ackerman]

I'm glad that Pledis released a statement regarding this and cleared up the situation. Being a Carat for 4 and a half years, I clearly know that Mingyu could not be a bully because of his kind and friendly nature. Seventeen is my ult, so I don't want these bullying accusations about Mingyu to be true. No, it isn't true anyways!

 

[yunaing]

I stg everyone atm is having bullying alogations because it’s such an easy thing to claim now after the J*min incident :/

 

[babyz]

I'm glad that Pledis released a statement regarding this and cleared up the situation. Being a Carat for 4 and a half years, I clearly know that Mingyu could not be a bully because of his kind and friendly nature. Seventeen is my ult, so I don't want these bullying accusations about Mingyu to be true. No, it isn't true anyways!

Even though I'm not really a Carat I'm also happy because it's sad to know that so many idols could be horrible human beings off-screen and more happy for you sis because I know how much you cherish Seventeen

 

[Mikasa Ackerman]

Even though I'm not really a Carat I'm also happy because it's sad to know that so many idols could be horrible human beings off-screen and more happy for you sis because I know how much you cherish Seventeen

Aww I'm so touched by these words sis

 

[Mikasa Ackerman]

Update:
Mingyu will halt his activities temporarily. Here is Pledis Statement after another person who posted on Instagram about a time Mingyu and his friend had sexually harassed her in school:

"Hello.
This is Pledis Entertainment.
We announce our position on the claims that were posted online regarding SEVENTEEN member Mingyu’s school days.
First, we apologize for not being able to share our position more promptly.
After recent claims were made, we had checked with the artist himself and taken additional procedures to verify the facts. In the process, we confirmed that there is a discrepancy between what was posted and what we have checked with the artist.
As there are many issues being raised socially regarding school violence, we decided it was foremost in importance to check the exact facts of the matter and are currently carrying out steps to verify every matter. We apologize that we are late in announcing our position due to this process.
As stated above, we used various ways to contact the person involved in the matter at the time in order to verify the exact facts and are currently in touch with them as well. We have checked with the artist’s former classmates and other acquaintances about the circumstances at the time.
To first explain what has been confirmed so far, it was said that the artist bullied a student with disabilities, but this is completely false.
The artist clearly remembers the person who is being referred to as the victim, so we were able to contact their mother after asking around. She has confirmed to us that the person being referred to as the victim had in fact been on good terms with the artist. The mother remembered the names of the students who bullied her child at school, so she was able to confirm this fact with us immediately.
The person who was referred to as the victim is currently living well in society and feels burdened about the incidents of their past being known without their consent and in a way that they did not wish for. Despite this, they have verified the facts with us for the sake of the artist.
We are actively looking into the other matters as well. However, it is difficult to identify the people who uploaded the posts online, and in some of the posts, the writer has expressed their reluctance to be reached out to, making it a situation in which it is not only difficult to get into contact with them, but also one that requires discretion.
We respect the writer’s position of not wanting a direct confrontation. At the same time, if it’s what the writer wants, we are open to meeting with the writer and confirming the facts at any time and in the way they prefer, and we will take measures accordingly after that.
We have no objections about the opinion that the society-wide issue of school violence must be considered from the victim’s perspective. However, in addition to the victim’s perspective, we determined that it was necessary to clearly verify the facts before taking any necessary measures.
The matters that were deemed problematic were incidents that took place in the past when the artist was in elementary school and middle school, so we believe that it is necessary to verify the facts and get as close as possible to what really happened in order to make a judgement.
The artist himself shared his apology for causing discomfort to fans due to this issue being raised. He has temporarily halted his scheduled activities and entrusted the company to take the necessary measures to confirm the facts.
We also bow our heads in apology for causing discomfort with something related to our artist.
This announcement is not the end of this matter, and we will continue to confirm the facts and take measures accordingly. However, we ask for your understanding as this is not a simple process and will take some time.
It is most important to meet those who have stated they were harmed, verify the facts, and help their mental wounds heal. In addition to this, we cannot make a swift decision about something that will impact an artist’s life without making sure of the facts, and we ask for your understanding on this as well. Of course, after we have completed our fact-checking and find that there was clear culpability, we promise to take clear measures accordingly.
We once again share our apology for causing an inconvenience with a matter related to our artist."

 

[pika_chuu]

mingyu could never TT

 

[LostInTheDream]

They were able to prove false that he bullied a disabled student. I hope they can do the same with this sexual harrassment claim.
But if he did do it....idk how to react to that. Seventeen are my ults.
I mght have to do what I did with Gfriend if it's true.
But I feel like it's not...

 

[pika_chuu]

They were able to prove false that he bullied a disabled student. I hope they can do the same with this sexual harrassment claim.
But if he did do it....idk how to react to that. Seventeen are my ults.
I mght have to do what I did with Gfriend if it's true.
But I feel like it's not...

Dont even tell me about gfriend

 

[Mikasa Ackerman]

They were able to prove false that he bullied a disabled student. I hope they can do the same with this sexual harrassment claim.
But if he did do it....idk how to react to that. Seventeen are my ults.
I mght have to do what I did with Gfriend if it's true.
But I feel like it's not...

I was thinking the same thing. It'll be so hard to bear it up if that was true
I don't want that sexual harassment thing to be true

 

[Mikasa Ackerman]

Update:
Pledis reaffirmed that Mingyu had not participated in bullying or any other harassments and stated that the misunderstandings with the poster had been resolved after face-to-face discussions.
Here is Pledis full statement:

"Hello, this is Pledis Entertainment.
We would like to provide additional information on what we have been able to confirm regarding SEVENTEEN member Mingyu.
The agency contacted the person who claimed that our artist had stood by and laughed as one of their middle school classmates was being assaulted. Although the poster wrote as if they were a witness in order to remain anonymous, the poster had in fact been directly involved in the incident.
After listening to the poster’s account of events, the agency worked to confirm the facts with the people who were said to be involved in the incident, along with testimonies submitted to the agency by graduates of the school.
First, the artist clearly stated that he had no memory of the incident described by the poster and that he had never encouraged assault against another student by watching, laughing, and making derogatory comments. The poster named their attackers, so we checked the statements from the perpetrators as well as those students who were presumed to be witnesses to the incident. No one recalled the incident as happening as claimed by the poster.
The poster remembered a friend having been with them at the time of the incident and contacted them, but the friend replied that they also had no memory of the event. As there was no one who could recall the incident described by the poster, the poster contacted the agency to inform us that they would no longer continue the issue.
It is deeply concerning that this kind of claim was published online based only on someone’s memories, and that the issue is coming to an end because the memories of the event were shown to be uncertain. While it is fortunate that this and all previous incidents were shown to have no relation to our artist, it is troubling to think that there are many people who have received both serious and minor scars from this kind of claim, as well as the time and effort required to respond to these claims. However, during the agency’s discussions with the poster, it appeared that the poster had been scarred by abusive incidents that occurred during their student life that had nothing to do with our artist, so we decided to wrap up the incident without taking further action after the truth had been clearly revealed.
As of now, the agency has wrapped up all discussions and contact with those people who could be identified as relating to this issue. We will provide further updates if any additional information is made available."