(TW) April Members Accused of Bullying Former Member

[LostInTheDream]

In light of all the bullying scandals in kpop, more people are feeling brave coming out or are creating false stories.
Well here's another one, this time impacting an entire group.
If you didn't know, the girl group April has two former members. One of which being Somin of KARD and the other Hyunjoo.
Hyunjoo was the Vocalist, Visual, and Lead Dancer of April. She left the group 1 year after debut in 2015.
The reason at the time being health problems and wanting to pursue acting.
Hyunjoo also later became a member of Unit.T after placing 5th on The Unit.

Recently someone proven to be her younger brother has posted some shocking remarks:
(TW/ Bullying and *******)
"Hello, I am former April's Hyunjoo-noona's little brother. I wanted to say this for years, but I kept it to myself for her future. But I think it's time for me to say it. My older sister supposedly left the group to pursue acting, but that's not the truth. She was ostracized and bullied in the group, and she ended up getting anxiety and had breathing issues because she suffered so much. She even tried to commit *******. When we think about that, my parents and I still hurt. My sister left the group, and her label sent her a letter that claimed she was leaving to pursue acting and told her to write it exactly. So my sister did that. We really know back then but we thought that was the right thing to do for our sister. But after my sister wrote that, she got so many hate comments saying she betrayed the group for her own benefit. She never got apologies from the members. When my mom went to the label, the members just laughed at her. My sister is still working hard. I kept it in because I didn't want to hurt her image, but I can't watch the members just pretend to have done nothing wrong. It's so hard for me and I can't imagine how my sister is feeling. I don't want the members to be on TV anymore. I don't want to remember them when I see them on TV and I don't want to see my sister suffering anymore."

Hyunjoo has not made any remarks on this claim and DSP Media is said to be investigating it right now.
However, it was verified that this is indeed her little brother. He posted a family relations document that proved that point.
Now it's just a waiting game to see if this was truthful or not.

Something I would like to also clarify is that this probably does not implicate members Rachel and Chaekyung as they were added to the group after Hyunjoo left. However, they still could have.
In terms of Somin, she might have also been a victim of the bullying and gotten out before it got to bad, she could have contributed to the bullying, or it may not have started until after she left.

What do you all think?

More info:

[TW] Person claiming to be Hyunjoo's little brother says she left April because she was bullied by the members to the point where she got suicidal

Netizen claiming to be Hyunjoo's little brother says she was basically forced to leave the group.[TW: bullying, attempted *******]He wro…

www.allkpop.com

 

[LostInTheDream]

Sort of update (TW/rape):
It was discovered that before debut, Naeun had made some rape jokes over text with a male friend:

Friend: Not you, but other girls hahaha
Naeun: Do you want to get raped by Go Young Wook, too!?!?
Friend: Sorry.... (honorific for women)
Naeun: Goddess ^^
Friend: Sure ㅠㅠㅠ (Being threatened)

*Go Young Wook is a celebrity who was found guilty of raping minors*

Now, this has nothing to do with bullying. But such inappropriate jokes like this really give an insight into a person's character.
And that kind of character is someone who could be a bully.
However, there is some thought that the screenshot of the messages is fake, but nothing has been confirmed.
I hope for Naeun's sake that they are fake. Joking about rape is never okay.

 

[pika_chuu]

you have to be kidding me...

 

[LostInTheDream]

Update from DSP Media (tw):
- On Jeon Somin
Jeon Somin became a trainee at our label when she was 16 and has been working hard for a long time. She worked hard as the leader of April after she debuted. It is false that she hated or bullied any member. Somin and Chaewon were trainees together for 3 years and were close already, so there was no reason for Chaewon to bully someone else to get close to Somin.
- On the tumbler
There are 40-50 tumblers in the dorm, and the members had put dwenjang stew in one of the tumblers for the members to eat at the label. Hyunjoo said it was hers, and Naeun apologized right away. Hyunjoo also ate together with the members.
- On the shoes
The label bought 2 pairs of identical shoes per member for a total of 12 pairs. Four of the members had the same size, and this is just what happened because of that.
- On cursing at a member before broadcast
It is false that a certain member was cursed out before broadcast.
- On their livelihood
The label checked the CCTV of the training room where Hyunjoo claimed she was bullied, but we found nothing. We are letting you know that we shared this with Hyunjoo and her mother as well.
- On the manager
It's true that April members were close to their female manager, who was with them 24/7. Dating the manager is a complete rumor and there is nothing she stayed silent on because she liked a certain member.
- On greeting Hyunjoo's mother
The April members realized it was a serious situation and greeted her silently because they didn't know what to say. This was a misunderstanding from that.

The label further confirmed that they would be taking legal action against any false information being spread.

 

[LostInTheDream]

Recently Yungyoung, a member of the DSP boy group A-JAX, released this statement in defense of April:
"I'm so upset so I'll just lay out the facts. When you talk to your friends, do you just tell them the truth? People automatically end up saying only their side instead of objectively laying out both sides when you're ranting to friends. Hyunjoo was probably upset because things didn't go her way. But the [April members] had it worse. Hyunjoo, sorry, but I gotta say what I gotta say. Because of you, I feel so bad for the kids... While I was in DSP Media, I saw the entire thing that April went through. Hyunjoo suddenly stopped coming to practice and schedules were broken all the time. It's true you can be sick and weak. But then you should've quit early. But you wanted to do what you wanted and you wanted to take it easy. How can you live like that? You're not a soloist - you're in a team. These girls would cry until their eyes were swollen in the training room. If they tried to talk to her, she wouldn't listen. Members spend more time together than family.

Everyone knows that Hyunjoo is the visual. But if you can't follow, then you should've worked harder than anyone else. I only saw a one-sided story so I think you have to know the facts. Stop saying that no one just stood by and watched and that they were all perpetrators. Hyunjoo, the members really worked hard to keep the group... You only wanted to shine yourself, but the members put the team and the fans first.. You were all young so it was probably hard to hide, but how can they bully you when you refused to listen to anything or talk? You were bullied? Please stop hurting people by just going with the ride.

And Somin, who's a KARD member right now... She's someone who worked so hard when she was little without trying to pull any stops. She used to lead April as their leader and by keeping her tears back as they practiced choreography. Is it a crime to work hard? They worked so hard to be here, so maybe she didn't want them to success? Hyunjoo, I support your future. I hope no one gets hurt."

 

[LostInTheDream]

Recently Yungyoung, a member of the DSP boy group A-JAX, released this statement in defense of April:
"I'm so upset so I'll just lay out the facts. When you talk to your friends, do you just tell them the truth? People automatically end up saying only their side instead of objectively laying out both sides when you're ranting to friends. Hyunjoo was probably upset because things didn't go her way. But the [April members] had it worse. Hyunjoo, sorry, but I gotta say what I gotta say. Because of you, I feel so bad for the kids... While I was in DSP Media, I saw the entire thing that April went through. Hyunjoo suddenly stopped coming to practice and schedules were broken all the time. It's true you can be sick and weak. But then you should've quit early. But you wanted to do what you wanted and you wanted to take it easy. How can you live like that? You're not a soloist - you're in a team. These girls would cry until their eyes were swollen in the training room. If they tried to talk to her, she wouldn't listen. Members spend more time together than family.

Everyone knows that Hyunjoo is the visual. But if you can't follow, then you should've worked harder than anyone else. I only saw a one-sided story so I think you have to know the facts. Stop saying that no one just stood by and watched and that they were all perpetrators. Hyunjoo, the members really worked hard to keep the group... You only wanted to shine yourself, but the members put the team and the fans first.. You were all young so it was probably hard to hide, but how can they bully you when you refused to listen to anything or talk? You were bullied? Please stop hurting people by just going with the ride.

And Somin, who's a KARD member right now... She's someone who worked so hard when she was little without trying to pull any stops. She used to lead April as their leader and by keeping her tears back as they practiced choreography. Is it a crime to work hard? They worked so hard to be here, so maybe she didn't want them to success? Hyunjoo, I support your future. I hope no one gets hurt."

In addition, member Yena's sister had this to say:
There is no such thing as bullying or outcasts in the group. At that point of time the members were just young kids who were unable to accept all of that friend’s whims. That friend’s emotionally-charged actions were just another weight for her colleagues to bear, within the hard job of an idol’s. Everyone went to the hospital and received treatment for recovery and took medicine in order to hang on and stay awake during the time spent backstage. That friend claimed her health wasn’t good and slowly started to not attend practices and days where she did not return to the dorms increased so the members were always feeling insecure.
Ultimately, when they had to go on for comeback promotions on music shows, that friend said she did not want to work and disappeared. As she failed to attend two broadcasts, the members had to stay up to dawn to rearrange the choreography and went through with a high intensity schedule. Finally, the members crumbled under the stress they had suppressed until now. The people who were harmed by this weren’t only the members.
After this, the members got therapy and after time passed, they were able to take this as an experience and live their own lives.
But you still asked for an apology? I assure you, the one that frowned on television due to these past events is you. Was the reason that friend was hurting, only due to the members? If I also read the posts from acquaintances that specifically listed instances and claimed the members were the perpetrators. I don’t know just how much these matters were distorted or if information was left out or made up.
Talking down, not apologizing, ignoring…
In those posts, the members were devils that can’t function in society. How can you not include the accounts of everyone present and turn the members into evil perpetrators?
I know that including that friend, everyone was someone that worked hard at their own jobs. Within that, facing a variety of hurt is inevitable. However, I’m not sure if this is something to harm someone else’s lives over it.
I know that, that post was written without proof and for a certain purpose. That’s why I cannot just stand by without doing anything as the misunderstanding and biasedness grows worse in this aggravated situation. The members cannot be hurt more than this. I appeal to you to not shoot the arrows of criticism towards the company and members anymore.
Thank you for reading this long message.

 

[renbow]

Nothing unexpected, a new bullying story is issued every day but in this particular one it looks like the former member is kinda trying to take some spotlight. There's nobody else supporting her being a victim except from her brother so we can't follow the 'always believe the victim' way here, (unless anything new occurs). As for Naeun making jokes about r*pe, I hope that's fake too otherwise she's seriously messed up.

 

[HeroHaikyu]

I’m just- *sigh* why does this happen so much?

 

[catqirljooe]

Hello, this is DSP Media.

We are making an additional clarification regarding the post that was made an online community regarding the unpleasant incident involving Lee Hyunjoo and the APRIL members.

Because everyone involved is an artist under our agency, we did not want to mention them by name, but due to the seriousness of the situation, we have decided to make these clarifications.

– Regarding Jeon Somin

Jeon Somin joined our agency as a trainee at 16 years old, and she quietly trained for a long time. After APRIL’s debut, she worked hard to fulfill her assigned role as the group leader. The claim that she disliked or bullied any specific member is untrue.

Jeon Somin and Kim Chaewon spent three years together as trainees at our agency, so they were already close, and there was no reason for Chaewon to defame a specific person to get close to Somin.

– Regarding the tumbler

There were about 40 to 50 tumblers at the dorm, and [Naeun] put dwenjang stew in one of them and was eating it with the other members at the practice room. At the time, Lee Hyunjoo said that the tumbler was hers, and Lee Naeun apologized right away. Lee Hyunjoo also ate the stew together with the other members at the time.

– Regarding the shoes

The company gifted each member with two pairs of the same shoes, for a total of 12 pairs. Four of the members had the same shoe size, so the [incident in question] was simply something that happened because of this.

– Regarding cursing before broadcast

The claim that [the APRIL members] cursed at any specific member before broadcast is untrue.

– Regarding their lifestyle

Our agency even checked the CCTV footage of places like the practice room where it was claimed that Lee Hyunjoo was bullied, but we were unable to find any footage of the situations described. As soon as we discovered this, we informed not only Lee Hyunjoo but also her mother of this fact.

– Regarding their manager

It’s true that APRIL was close with one female manager with whom they spent 24 hours a day back then. The claim about [a member] dating the manager is untrue, and she never stayed silent about things that were wrong because she favored a specific member.

– Regarding greeting Lee Hyunjoo’s mother

The APRIL members also recognized the seriousness of the situation and remained silent because they didn’t know what to say. This is a misunderstanding that arose from that.

Our company finds the current situation, in which we have no choice but to clarify these kinds of things, to be regrettable. However, we could no longer stand by and watch the current situation of the mentioned members suffering damages because of the unconfirmed words of a third party who did not personally witness the situation at the time. As a result, we decided to clarify these matters from the past that we did not want to bring up.

As soon as the unpleasantness between Lee Hyunjoo and the APRIL members became known, unconfirmed incidents are endlessly being posted as if they were facts. The APRIL members are suffering because of these unconfirmed posts.

We plan to take strong legal action against not only the posting and spreading of unconfirmed falsehoods, but also the groundless edited photos that are being posted on certain online communities.

Thank you.​

Source

​

 

[LostInTheDream]

Hello, this is DSP Media.

We are making an additional clarification regarding the post that was made an online community regarding the unpleasant incident involving Lee Hyunjoo and the APRIL members.

Because everyone involved is an artist under our agency, we did not want to mention them by name, but due to the seriousness of the situation, we have decided to make these clarifications.

– Regarding Jeon Somin

Jeon Somin joined our agency as a trainee at 16 years old, and she quietly trained for a long time. After APRIL’s debut, she worked hard to fulfill her assigned role as the group leader. The claim that she disliked or bullied any specific member is untrue.

Jeon Somin and Kim Chaewon spent three years together as trainees at our agency, so they were already close, and there was no reason for Chaewon to defame a specific person to get close to Somin.

– Regarding the tumbler

There were about 40 to 50 tumblers at the dorm, and [Naeun] put dwenjang stew in one of them and was eating it with the other members at the practice room. At the time, Lee Hyunjoo said that the tumbler was hers, and Lee Naeun apologized right away. Lee Hyunjoo also ate the stew together with the other members at the time.

– Regarding the shoes

The company gifted each member with two pairs of the same shoes, for a total of 12 pairs. Four of the members had the same shoe size, so the [incident in question] was simply something that happened because of this.

– Regarding cursing before broadcast

The claim that [the APRIL members] cursed at any specific member before broadcast is untrue.

– Regarding their lifestyle

Our agency even checked the CCTV footage of places like the practice room where it was claimed that Lee Hyunjoo was bullied, but we were unable to find any footage of the situations described. As soon as we discovered this, we informed not only Lee Hyunjoo but also her mother of this fact.

– Regarding their manager

It’s true that APRIL was close with one female manager with whom they spent 24 hours a day back then. The claim about [a member] dating the manager is untrue, and she never stayed silent about things that were wrong because she favored a specific member.

– Regarding greeting Lee Hyunjoo’s mother

The APRIL members also recognized the seriousness of the situation and remained silent because they didn’t know what to say. This is a misunderstanding that arose from that.

Our company finds the current situation, in which we have no choice but to clarify these kinds of things, to be regrettable. However, we could no longer stand by and watch the current situation of the mentioned members suffering damages because of the unconfirmed words of a third party who did not personally witness the situation at the time. As a result, we decided to clarify these matters from the past that we did not want to bring up.

As soon as the unpleasantness between Lee Hyunjoo and the APRIL members became known, unconfirmed incidents are endlessly being posted as if they were facts. The APRIL members are suffering because of these unconfirmed posts.

We plan to take strong legal action against not only the posting and spreading of unconfirmed falsehoods, but also the groundless edited photos that are being posted on certain online communities.

Thank you.​

Source

​

Already posted this above...but thanks?

 

[catqirljooe]

Already posted this above...but thanks?

this is embarassing

 

[LostInTheDream]

this is embarassing

all good!

 

[renbow]

Are there any updates? It looks like Hyunjoo was indeed bullied by other members except two new members who were added after her? And apparently Somin from KARD was also involved, she was even the leader of the group at the time *sigh*. There are recent videos posted that show members giving Hyunjoo dirty looks behind her back.

 

[LostInTheDream]

Are there any updates? It looks like Hyunjoo was indeed bullied by other members except two new members who were added after her? And apparently Somin from KARD was also involved, she was even the leader of the group at the time *sigh*. There are recent videos posted that show members giving Hyunjoo dirty looks behind her back.

The company, and other connected individuals, has been releasing statements stating that the claims are false

 

[pika_chuu]

Are there any updates? It looks like Hyunjoo was indeed bullied by other members except two new members who were added after her? And apparently Somin from KARD was also involved, she was even the leader of the group at the time *sigh*. There are recent videos posted that show members giving Hyunjoo dirty looks behind her back.

Who wouldn’t, if she literally blew off practices and performances? They literally worked so hard for that, and having to stay up all night and change choreography is really tiring. Who can blame them if they were upset with her?

 

[renbow]

Who wouldn’t, if she literally blew off practices and performances? They literally worked so hard for that, and having to stay up all night and change choreography is really tiring. Who can blame them if they were upset with her?

That's true.

 

[pika_chuu]

That's true.

i just feel bad for everyone involved

 

[renbow]

i just feel bad for everyone involved

I feel the same way ;(

 

[pika_chuu]

I feel the same way ;(