Not Yet Debuted, Kim Garam LE SSERAFIM Involved In Bullying Case
JAKARTA - HYBE together with Source Music will debut the group LE SSERAFIM. The agency began to announce members who joined the K-pop group, starting from Sakura, Kim Chaewon, Kazuha, and Kim Garam.
Thursday, April 5, Source Music released photo and video teasers of Kim Garam as a member of LE SSERAFIM. But at the same time, an anonymous post on the internet about him went viral.
A netizen claimed he graduated from school with Kim Garam. He said Garam would message their juniors on Facebook if they didn't greet them well. In addition, these netizens also called Kim Garam drinking and smoking.
“He (Kim Garam) did everything. Bullying, and he will throw words at you if you walk in front of him," said another.
Not only that, a netizen also wrote that a student at his school had fainted and was rushed to the emergency room because of Kim Garam's behavior. There is also a photo of Kim Garam in front of the blackboard containing explicit words.
Seeing all these rumors, HYBE released a statement that they had investigated the post.
“The recent accusations were slyly edited to slander Kim Garam for events that occurred while he was friends in the early stages of high school. Contrary to the claims, Kim Garam was confirmed to be a victim of bullying through a third party," wrote a HYBE statement.
"Besides, rumors that Kim Garam is a trainee at another agency and leaked internal documents are not true," he continued.
HYBE and Source Music ask the public to stop spreading unfounded rumors.
“The accusations that were made contained defamation of someone who was underage before debuting as a celebrity. And we will take legal action without leniency," the statement concluded.
LE SSERAFIM is a six-member group under Source Music which was acquired by HYBE. The plan is that this group will debut this year.