(TW/Bullying) Kim Garam (LE SSERAFIM) Accused of Bad Actions

[LostInTheDream]

One of the members of the new Source Music girl group LE SSERAFIM has been accused of being a bully in school and other bad actions.
- There are photos of her standing in front of a blackboard with inappropriate images drawn on it (so I won't post it here)
- She's accused of bullying junior students to the point where 1 student had to be hospitalized
- She apparently drank and smoked while being underage
I've also found a rumor that she was originally a Starship Entertainment trainee but left after being removed from the IVE lineup.

However, HYBE released the following statement essentially saying she was the victim:
Hello, this is HYBE.
We would like to inform you about our position regarding the suspicions related to Kim Garam, who has been confirmed to debut as a member of LESSERAFIM, a girl group from Source Music under HYBE.
Since yesterday, there have been accusations made against her on various websites, and we have conducted an internal verification process. The results are as follows:
The recent allegations were cunningly edited to maliciously slander Kim Garam over the events that occurred during the time when she was making friends in the early stages of middle school.
Contrary to the claims, it was confirmed through a third-party statement that Kim Garam was a victim of school bullying, including malicious rumors and cyberbullying, when she was in middle school.
In addition, it was confirmed that the rumors, such as that Kim Garam was a trainee at another agency or that she leaked internal documents, are not true.
We believe that the allegations are maliciously intended to harm the artist who is about to debut, and we inform you that Source Music has taken legal action against the spread of unilateral and distorted allegations and false information related to this case.
Therefore, we sincerely ask you to refrain from speculative reporting based on suspicions that are currently being maliciously raised online.
Furthermore, the allegations that have been raised contain defamation of character against someone who is still a minor before her debut as a celebrity, and we would like to clearly state that we will take legal action without any settlement or leniency.
Thank you.

I really don't know what to think with this one. There have been so many instances where idols have been accused of things like this and it was found to be untrue or truthful. I feel like HYBE would have better background checks that they would be able to spot this and not take her in, but they have made mistakes with that in the past (the intro in Suga's song containing Jim Jones). I'm hoping it's not true because I am really excited for this group.

What are your thoughts? Have you taken a side, and what made you chose that. I kinda just want to hear other opinions and see if there is other information.

Source Music Releases Statement Denying School Bullying Rumors Against LE SSERAFIM’s Kim Garam

LE SSERAFIM's Kim Garam's agency Source Music released a statement denying rumors involving her middle school days. On April 5, Source Music revealed Kim Garam as the next member of new girl group LE SSERAFIM. On the same day, claims that she was involved in school violence started to surface...

www.soompi.com

https://www.allkpop.com/article/2022/04/c-w-le-sserafims-kim-garam-gets-embroiled-in-a-school-bullying-controversy-before-her-debut

(the second article has that innapropriate blackboard photo in case you don't want to see that)

 

[yunaing]

This is the most confusing bullying scandal ever.
The fact they’re targeting what’s going to be a future monster rookie should be red flags that it’s deformation but at the same time… the timing between her reveal and this rumours… it feels too sudden to be a planned attack? Unless these are bullies themselves targeting her?? Idk what to think. It’s so hard to tell these days with all the fake rumours.
Just hoping that the other 5 girls aren’t affected by this

 

[LostInTheDream]

This is the most confusing bullying scandal ever.
The fact they’re targeting what’s going to be a future monster rookie should be red flags that it’s deformation but at the same time… the timing between her reveal and this rumours… it feels too sudden to be a planned attack? Unless these are bullies themselves targeting her?? Idk what to think. It’s so hard to tell these days with all the fake rumours.
Just hoping that the other 5 girls aren’t affected by this

yeah I was thinking it might be toxic Gfriend stans or something but idk I'm confused too

 

[sanasideup]

honestly, i believe hybe. after what happened w glam, they've probably done some serious research into the situation and taken every allegation seriously, just in case

 

[Zerø_21]

honestly, i believe hybe. after what happened w glam, they've probably done some serious research into the situation and taken every allegation seriously, just in case

Yep

 

[escapism]

I'm super excited for this group's debut but I'm not taking any sides to this story.
I just assume HYBE/Source would've been extra cautious selecting their members after what happened with GLAM.

 

[LostInTheDream]

honestly, i believe hybe. after what happened w glam, they've probably done some serious research into the situation and taken every allegation seriously, just in case

I'm super excited for this group's debut but I'm not taking any sides to this story.
I just assume HYBE/Source would've been extra cautious selecting their members after what happened with GLAM.

I agree, they probably have really extensive background checks. I think they should release another statement and do a more thorough investigation.

 

[Mikasa Ackerman]

She hasn't even debuted yet and don't they have other jobs than ruining the idols' lives? I thought these bullying accusations ended. Guess these haters have too much time on their hands It's really difficult to think how jealous and cruel some people can be sometimes. This is really terrible because this can ruin a person's career after years of effort and sacrifice. I'm thankful to Hybe and Source Music for making those haters realize the truth.

 

[BowmanKang]

One of the members of the new Source Music girl group LE SSERAFIM has been accused of being a bully in school and other bad actions.
- There are photos of her standing in front of a blackboard with inappropriate images drawn on it (so I won't post it here)
- She's accused of bullying junior students to the point where 1 student had to be hospitalized
- She apparently drank and smoked while being underage
I've also found a rumor that she was originally a Starship Entertainment trainee but left after being removed from the IVE lineup.

However, HYBE released the following statement essentially saying she was the victim:
Hello, this is HYBE.
We would like to inform you about our position regarding the suspicions related to Kim Garam, who has been confirmed to debut as a member of LESSERAFIM, a girl group from Source Music under HYBE.
Since yesterday, there have been accusations made against her on various websites, and we have conducted an internal verification process. The results are as follows:
The recent allegations were cunningly edited to maliciously slander Kim Garam over the events that occurred during the time when she was making friends in the early stages of middle school.
Contrary to the claims, it was confirmed through a third-party statement that Kim Garam was a victim of school bullying, including malicious rumors and cyberbullying, when she was in middle school.
In addition, it was confirmed that the rumors, such as that Kim Garam was a trainee at another agency or that she leaked internal documents, are not true.
We believe that the allegations are maliciously intended to harm the artist who is about to debut, and we inform you that Source Music has taken legal action against the spread of unilateral and distorted allegations and false information related to this case.
Therefore, we sincerely ask you to refrain from speculative reporting based on suspicions that are currently being maliciously raised online.
Furthermore, the allegations that have been raised contain defamation of character against someone who is still a minor before her debut as a celebrity, and we would like to clearly state that we will take legal action without any settlement or leniency.
Thank you.

I really don't know what to think with this one. There have been so many instances where idols have been accused of things like this and it was found to be untrue or truthful. I feel like HYBE would have better background checks that they would be able to spot this and not take her in, but they have made mistakes with that in the past (the intro in Suga's song containing Jim Jones). I'm hoping it's not true because I am really excited for this group.

What are your thoughts? Have you taken a side, and what made you chose that. I kinda just want to hear other opinions and see if there is other information.

Source Music Releases Statement Denying School Bullying Rumors Against LE SSERAFIM’s Kim Garam

LE SSERAFIM's Kim Garam's agency Source Music released a statement denying rumors involving her middle school days. On April 5, Source Music revealed Kim Garam as the next member of new girl group LE SSERAFIM. On the same day, claims that she was involved in school violence started to surface...

www.soompi.com

https://www.allkpop.com/article/2022/04/c-w-le-sserafims-kim-garam-gets-embroiled-in-a-school-bullying-controversy-before-her-debut

(the second article has that innapropriate blackboard photo in case you don't want to see that)

Me personally the sexual drawings dont care about that at all teenagers are overly horny then same as their immaturity level which is high then which is why even if she was a bully like soojin allegedly was i dont care about that as long as she has become a better person now this is from a pretty decent time ago its not recent so she could have changed unless she gives me a reason to no longer support her im gonna support all of them especially since idols are all bullies nowadays according to netizens u cant believe anything about these scandals especially the timing being around promotions everytime very sus but yeah the sexual things thats just immature kids nothing slutty or anything i did the same thing but i did it with other guys except it was usually dirty conversations not drawing anything girls typically didnt participate in this stuff they are usually more conserved but i think its refreshing to see them just being freespirited here nothing harmful with that just childish but the bullying if true hopefully shes changed but again i dont care about stuff that happened in school unless u like did something really bad

 

[yunaing]

This is the most confusing bullying scandal ever.
The fact they’re targeting what’s going to be a future monster rookie should be red flags that it’s deformation but at the same time… the timing between her reveal and this rumours… it feels too sudden to be a planned attack? Unless these are bullies themselves targeting her?? Idk what to think. It’s so hard to tell these days with all the fake rumours.
Just hoping that the other 5 girls aren’t affected by this

I’ve seen more stuff being posted about this and honestly I’m not mad at Garam or the supposed victims. I’m mad at HYBE now. Fromis_9 is the only girl group they’ve had in years that seems to have benefited from their management. GLAM we all know what happened to them, and then GFRIEND getting disbanded out of the blue and seemingly without discussion with the members. And now they’ve debuted LE SSERAFIM without deciding to clean this mess up.
There’s videos on Twitter of crowds cheering for everyone except Garam. And there’s heaps of people saying she deserves it.
If Garam is innocent, they’ve debuted her without this being proven, and she is receiving unnecessary hate. If she is guilty, they’ve put a bully in a group that could overshadow their success (such as AOA, APRIL and BlackSwan). Whenever I see Garam spoken about, it’s about the bullying. They should’ve just waited to debut the girls until everything was properly resolved

 

[yawnzzn]

I just saw a bunch of threads of proof about Garam being bullied and targeted by classmates and tbh if it's really the case, it'd make sense because the "evidence" of Garam's past is very faulty and the proof was proven to be fake. I hope HYBE comes out with a full case because it's looking like she's innocent but not yet in the clear with knetz

 

[TaeBora~]

Why are idols always getting caught bullying people. Leave others alone, damn. It's getting old.

 

[LostInTheDream]

Why are idols always getting caught bullying people. Leave others alone, damn. It's getting old.

It only ends up being true 5% of the time

 

[TaeBora~]

It only ends up being true 5% of the time

ik but it's just so...OLD oml. I don't understand how you can get off to someone being hurt (physically or mentally) ahem...hyunjin it's disgusting. Even if it's false, she must have done something to provoke this person. Thank god I don't "stan" them. Karma gave them that debut

 

[yawnzzn]

ik but it's just so...OLD oml. I don't understand how you can get off to someone being hurt (physically or mentally) ahem...hyunjin it's disgusting. Even if it's false, she must have done something to provoke this person. Thank god I don't "stan" them. Karma gave them that debut

Hyunjin was also proven false. The accusers are members of a dance team Garam was in. She didn't do anything to provoke them they are just bad people. They spread false info about her on purpose then went out to celebrate. CORRECTION: they are the same age as her i just assumed they were adults because they posted a pic of them celebrating by drinking beer, which minors cannot drink. They are a bullies, and an underage drinkers.

 

[yunaing]

Hyunjin was also proven false. The accusers are members of a dance team Garam was in. She didn't do anything to provoke them they are just bad people. They spread false info about her on purpose then went out to celebrate. CORRECTION: they are the same age as her i just assumed they were adults because they posted a pic of them celebrating by drinking beer, which minors cannot drink. They are a bullies, and an underage drinkers.

Idk if it’s true but I heard a rumour one of the members of her dance team was a BTS fan and got jealous that she was debuting under their company

 

[sanasideup]

hybe needs to fix this. she's sixteen, constantly having ppl treat her like this is not gonna be good for her. if the bullying rumors are false, then hybe needs to start suing ppl for defamation and put an end to this. if i was garam's family or close friend, i would be livid at how this is being handled, esp since there's more evidence for garam being the victim, not the bully

 

[LostInTheDream]

Well, it looks like this might actually by true...

https://www.allkpop.com/article/2022/05/kim-garams-middle-school-responds-to-the-alleged-new-bullying-evidence-about-the-le-sserafim-member

https://www.allkpop.com/article/2022/05/hybe-officially-responds-to-kim-garams-alleged-victims-latest-statement-on-bullying-mental-distress

https://www.allkpop.com/article/202...velopments-in-kim-garams-school-bullying-case

I think the fact that Hybe is cancelling the schedules for ALL members really says something.

 

[sanasideup]

call me insensitive, but her being a bully 4 yrs ago doesn't seem that bad to me? as long as she's not been bullying her members or other ppl in the company - ie, not been a bully recently, i don't see what all the fuss is for. granted, idrk the full extent of everything and i never will, but still. i became a drastically different person between 12 and 16 and gained a much deeper understanding of empathy and right vs wrong, as most ppl do. idk, but i do know that i'm in shock; you'd figure hybe would have been ultra careful after glam, but apparantely not...

 

[LostInTheDream]

call me insensitive, but her being a bully 4 yrs ago doesn't seem that bad to me? as long as she's not been bullying her members or other ppl in the company - ie, not been a bully recently, i don't see what all the fuss is for. granted, idrk the full extent of everything and i never will, but still. i became a drastically different person between 12 and 16 and gained a much deeper understanding of empathy and right vs wrong, as most ppl do. idk, but i do know that i'm in shock; you'd figure hybe would have been ultra careful after glam, but apparantely not...

I see where you're coming from. I think it's just the culture in South Korea that makes this so much worse. Bullying is perceived as 10x as worse in Korea compared to Western countries. That's why everything just explodes when a rumor pops up.
I think she should be given some lenience considering her age at the time, but again we don't know what she did. She could have just teased someone or she could have nearly beaten someone to death in anger.
I also think that picture where they directly referenced IVE shows that this is a lot more recent then we think it is. But again, we don't actually know if that's her, or the circumstances around it.
Everything is just so confusing and I just wish things would be be clear or told truthfully.