HYBE has made an additional statement explaining some of their claims regarding LE SSERAFIM’s Kim Garam’s accusations of school violence.
Warning: mention of attempted suicide.
Last month, Kim Garam was embroiled in multiple accusations of school violence following her first debut teaser for LE SSERAFIM was released. At that time, HYBE issued an official statement denying all the accusations and stating that Kim Garam had been a victim of bullying. They also announced their plans to take legal action once morest those who had made the accusations once morest Kim Garam.
Earlier this week, controversy over the allegations grew when a photo of a document what appeared to be an official record of a school violence committee meeting began to circulate online. The document listed Kim Garam as the perpetrator of the incident.
On May 19, the legal representative of the alleged victim in the incident (hereinfollowing “Y”) issued a detailed statement confirming that the circulating document was real and that Kim Garam had been found guilty of school violence for the committee in 2018.
The law firm also stated that although “Y” was not one of the people who originally posted Kim Garam’s photos online in April, Kim Garam’s friends and people she doesn’t know have bullied her online ever since HYBE made their appearance. statement claiming that Kim Garam had actually been a victim of harassment. According to the firm, subsequent online attacks led “Y” to attempt suicide and drop out of school and her mother now stays by her side 24 hours a day to make sure she doesn’t get hurt once more.
The law firm accused HYBE of subjecting the alleged victim to a second round of damages, stating that while they attempted to contact the agency regarding the matter and sent them the evidence in question last month, they did not receive a response. They then asked HYBE to apologize and amend their earlier statement regarding Kim Garam being the victim, stating that “Y” was not interested in the money, but wanted the truth to be properly revealed and her name cleared.
The next day, HYBE responded with a detailed statement in which they stated that although it was true that Kim Garam had been convicted of school violence in 2018, she had not committed any type of physical aggression. According to HYBE, “Y” took a photo of one of her classmates while she was changing and wearing only underwear, then posted it online without her permission, and Kim Garam simply angrily confronted “Y” regarding her actions. HYBE also claimed that “Y” had not received any disciplinary action for her misdeeds, while Kim Garam and one of her friends had been punished simply for arguing with her. (A full translation of the statement can be found here.)
However, some expressed skepticism regarding HYBE’s statement due to the fact that Kim Garam received a Grade 5 disciplinary action from the school violence committee, meaning that both she and her parents had to take a special education course on violence.
In South Korea, school violence committees are usually convened only for serious cases of bullying and violence (as opposed to verbal arguments between students) and when disciplinary action is taken, there are nine grades of punishment with different levels of severity: Grade Grade 1 (the mildest) is ordering the offender to apologize, while Grade 9 (the harshest) is expulsion. Beginning in Grade 5, the perpetrator’s parents must also complete an educational course on violence.
According to the Ministry of Education, Grade 5 is “a measure taken when it seems unlikely that measures such as community service would be sufficient for the student offender to feel remorse for his actions on his own, in order to reform his mind regarding violence and make them reflect on their actions with the help of a professional”.
Since most disciplinary action taken in school violence cases, even those involving physical assault, typically falls between Grades 1 and 3, it is rare for Grade 5 disciplinary action to be taken in a case. in which there was no physical aggression. Therefore, many expressed confusion as to how Kim Garam’s case might have justified a Grade 5 punishment without physical violence.
On May 21, HYBE officially responded to questions regarding their previous statement by reiterating, “Grade 5 disciplinary action was taken even though there was absolutely no physical violence.”
HYBE continued, “As far as we know, school violence committees are conducted differently depending on the matter, the school, the district, and the members, as they are not courts of law.”
“At the time, Kim Garam’s mother believed that the school had made the decision that would best help her daughter, so she did not appeal the decision,” they continued. “Now, Kim Garam’s mother deeply regrets that she did not question the extent of the school violence committee’s disciplinary action and simply accepted it. But at that time she thought that this was the best way to educate her daughter”.
Meanwhile, HYBE also ad yesterday that Kim Garam will temporarily go on hiatus to focus on “healing his wounded heart,” with LE SSERAFIM promoting as a five-member group for the time being.
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