By nature all humans make mistakes and we all deserve to be forgiven.
However, as public figures, most of the time Kpop idols are not allowed to err and if they
do, they would have to be prepared for the massive hatred poured on them.
Here are 4 Kpop idols heavily criticized for their alleged wrongdoings and were even asked
to leave their groups:
Kim Garam (LESSERAFIM)
On April 5, Source Music introduced the second member of LE SSERAFIM – Kim Garam.
At the mere age of 17, she instantly captured the interest of the public thanks to her pure
and innocent beauty.
However, less than a day after being introduced, Kim Garam’s past photos were spread on Korean
community sites, drawing mixed opinions from netizens.
These images revealed her inappropriate behaviors at school which seemed unsuitable for a student.
What’s more, she was also accused of humiliating and bullying her classmates.
Recently, new evidence against Kim Garam has appeared.
Specifically, someone posted a photo of a report on school violence in which Garam's
name was listed in the "violent student" section, stirring up the Kpop fan community and making
people have more reason to believe Garam is actually guilty.
Noticing the seriousness of this incident, a Korean news channel even reported about
Garam’s scandal on their daily news program, naming her as one of the students involved
in school bullying right in her freshman year.
In response to Kim Garam’s scandals, HYBE denied all the allegations and continued to
support their artist, claiming she was innocent and was actually the victim instead.
This action received countless negative comments from K-netizens as they believed the company
was being irresponsible and inconsiderate in training and selecting their artists.
Many even requested HYBE to omit this scandalous idol from the group to protect the remaining
members as they were afraid that Garam would ruin her group’s reputation and other members’
careers.
Some people also raised the question of what is so special about Garam that HYBE still
decided to keep her despite her scandalous past and all the mess she is creating now.
They even boycotted her on every social media site to show their rage towards Garam and
HYBE.
The hashtag #Garamout is now trending on TikTok with hundreds of videos and over 6 million
views in total.
Nevertheless, among a multitude of hate comments poured on Kim Garam, some of her supporters
argued that the accusations were groundless and irrational because until now, there is
still no definite proof of her alleged guilt, and that the haters were just being jealous
of this talented girl.
Hyunjin (StrayKids)
JYP Entertainment has always taken pride in their artists’ great personalities, therefore,
the bullying accusation against Hyunjin in 2021 really came as a shock to many.
In February, 2021, a controversial post against Hyujin was published on the popular Korean
online platform Nate Pann.
In this post, the writer recalled his highschool nightmares of being bullied by Hyunjin.
He accused Hyunjin of verbally assaulting him and other classmates, humiliating many
students and starting quarrels at school.
This post instantly sparked heated debate on the Internet, capturing the attention of
both Kpop fans and non-fans.
Although JYP Entertainment promptly denied all allegations and confirmed to take serious
legal actions against the false information, things did not end there.
Only a week after the release of the post, Hyunjin posted an official apology on his
social media account.
In the handwritten letter, he apologized to his old friends in highschool for his misbehaviours
during his teenage years, claiming that he was being inconsiderate and immature and is
now extremely regretful for his past.
While some netizens made allowances for Huynjin’s immaturity due to his young age, others just
didn’t buy it and harshly criticized him.
All over the Internet were countless negative comments about Huynjin’s troublesome past.
A multitude of his supporters left the fanbase, saying that they could not forgive him because
bullying is an absolute no-no.
Some even requested him to leave the group in order not to ruin StrayKids’ future activities.
Many of his fansites also decided to close due to this scandal and worst of all, his
group’s contract with one of the biggest Korean beauty brands CLIO was also canceled.
However, Hyunjin’s comeback four months after the scandal with the mixtape “Oh”
made his fans extremely happy and even left them in tears as they could finally see their
idol back on the stage after the scandal.
Lia (ITZY)
It seemed that 2021 was an unfortunate year for JYP, as their artists were continuously
involved in controversial scandals.
Just a few months after Hyunjin's bully accusations, Lia ITZY was also accused of bullying her
former classmates.
On July 28th, 2021, the alleged victim referred to as A, uploaded a post titled, “Victim
of school violence perpetrated by famous female idol born in 2000.”
This person wrote that she was a middle school classmate with the perpetrator who borrowed
money without returning it, spoke badly of her and made her and other classmates outcasts
for no reason.
In response to the news, JYP Entertainment stated that they were trying to figure things
out.
However, what drove the netizens up the wall was the fact that JYP allowed Lia to go back
to her usual schedules without posting any official statement about the bullying accusations.
People were mad at the fact that Lia did not even take a hiatus and continued to appear
on TV Shows and ITZY’s promotion activities.
Although Lia’s fans believed in the innocence of their idol and they were over the moon
to see her on the screen despite the accusations, netizens were outraged and regarded Lia as
shameless.
They claimed that considering the seriousness of this issue, Lia should have been kicked
out of the group.
The hashtag #Liaout went trending on Twitter for days, as some Kpop fans said they can
not tolerate artists with such terrible actions.
According to some netizens, JYP Entertainment clearly did not take Lia and Hyunjin’s bullying
accusations into serious consideration.
Perhaps they’re developing the “shameless” strategy, waiting for the public to cool out
and forget about the controversies instead of truly addressing the issues and punishing
their artists.
Lucas (NCT)
The scandal about NCT’s Lucas’ intimate relationships in August 2021 clearly created
shockwaves in the Chinese and Korean entertainment industries.
As a consequence, the male superstar was suspected of committing intimate relationships with
a large number of female followers in Korea and China, as well as negative behavior such
as dishonesty, emotional manipulation, maligning TV shows, etc.
As the allegations against him went viral on various social media platforms, SM Entertainment
had to issue an official statement in the last week of August announcing that they have
suspended all the activities of Lucas.
In the handwritten letter posted on his official Instagram account, Lucas apologized to people
who had been hurt by his wrongdoings.
He promised to strictly reflect on his past and expressed his deep regrets for his immaturity.
However, there was no clarification provided by the company regarding his association with
NCT whether he will stay or quit.
The majority of NCT’s fans requested Lucas to leave the group as his inconsiderate actions
had left negative implications on the reputation of the whole group as well as ruined other
planned activities of WayV/NCT.
Some even ripped up Lucas’ posters and photocards then uploaded the photos on the Internet to
show their anger at him.
This trend was joined by many other former supporters of Lucas, as they were extremely
disappointed with their once favorite artist.
So, do you think the above accusations are true or false?
Are some fans and netizens acting outrageously asking these idols to leave their group?