Former Le Sserafim member Kim Ga-ram allegedly issues new statement maintaining innocence amid bullying accusations
Kim Ga-ram allegedly issued a new statement on Wednesday via Instagram denying the bullying allegations that led to her removal from Le Sserafim last month.
An anonymous account and source claiming to be a friend of Kim’s purportedly uploaded a letter on her behalf with her side of the story. The letter opens with:
“Firstly, I would like to apologize. Although it’s very late, I didn’t have the opportunity to make a statement. It’s true that I was afraid that the dream, which I had been working hard for and running towards all this while, would shatter due to my past actions. But as days passed, I was even more afraid of all the criticisms targeted at me. And if I was given a chance, I definitely wanted to honestly tell my side of the story.”
It goes on to list and deny the major allegations, including the use of violence in school and the rumors that Kim smoked cigarettes, consumed alcohol, was forced to transfer to a different school and bullied other people.
According to the letter, Kim cursed at alleged victim Yoo Eun-Seo after the school violence committee investigated the claim that Yoo uploaded photos of Kim’s friend in her “underwear” and talked behind her back.
“Back then, I wasn’t able to recognize the difference between too much and too little, so I did not think of my actions as wrong while confronting Yoo Eun-Seo,” the letter says. “I thought that I was being loyal by helping my friend, and I simply thought that my actions were chivalrous. I was unable to recognize the seriousness of the matter. Now, looking back, I had been rather immature.”
The letter points out that Kim was trying to stand up for her friend, following what her parents would tell her about helping friends in need.
“Back then, my friendships were the most important to me, and I was at the age where I enjoyed the time spent with them the most,” the letter reads. “My methods then were wrong, and although I made some mistakes and wrong actions, I don’t want to hate who I was back then. My parents had always told me not to ignore friends who needed help or were in a tough spot. I think the same even to this day.”
The letter concludes by saying that the two weeks after Kim’s debut and prior to the bullying allegations were a dream that she fought hard for. She thanks the fans who supported her.
In addition to the letter, the account uploaded what it claims to be the school violence committee report that seemingly supports Kim’s statements in her letter.
Responding to the account, Kim’s former label Hybe issued a statement on Thursday, saying, “As we have already terminated our exclusive contract with Kim Ga-ram, we have nothing else to say because any additional comments are not appropriate given the contractual situation.”
Le Sserafim debuted in May with their mini-album and its title track “Fearless.” On Tuesday, Korean American member Yunjin celebrated 100 days since their debut with the release of her own self-produced song “Raise y_our glass,” which is accompanied by a vlog-style video that follows Yunjin as she starts her idol training and makes happy memories with her fellow group mates after. A day prior to that, Le Sserafim announced their official fandom name, “Fearnot.”
Le Sserafim debuted in May with their mini-album and its title track “Fearless.” On Tuesday, Korean American member Yunjin celebrated 100 days since their debut with the release of her own self-produced song “Raise y_our glass,” which is accompanied by a vlog-style video that follows Yunjin as she starts her idol training and makes happy memories with her fellow group mates after. A day prior to that, Le Sserafim announced their official fandom name, “Fearnot.”
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