Kim Garam of LE SSERAFIM was removed by HYBE Labels, two months after school bullying accusations resurfaced.
HYBE Labels/Source Music announced on July 20 that LE SSERAFIM member Kim Garam will no longer be part of the group and his contract terminated after the school bullying controversies.
"We have decided to terminate our exclusive contract with Kim Gar," and "we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused to fans and many others due to the controversy over Kim Garam."
The decision was reached two months after Kim Garam’s reported bullying started and eventually went on hiatus through an announcement on May 20 to focus on “healing” her heart.
“We extend our sincerest apologies to our fans and to those who have shown love and support to the group for causing you concern over the controversy involving the member. LE SSERAFIM will continue their activities as a five-member group, and we will spare no effort to support the group to grow further as artists through their music and performance,” the company said.
The allegations against the idol of school violence started in April, before the group’s debut but was quickly debunked by the agency and threatened to follow with legal action against the false rumors.
Kim Garam’s bullying apparently started in middle school when she attended the Kyeongin Middle School in Seoul which was unraveled through an online community where Person A claimed to be a victim and said that she had a reputation for harassing her juniors and smoking cigarettes.
“She was a kid who enjoyed such day-to-day bullying. I don’t know if she did this to confuse people purposely, but she definitely said she was preparing to become an actress, so I don’t know why she suddenly changed to being in a girl group. It’s so funny because she probably knew that people would expose her because she did [wrong] things,” a netizen who claimed to have known Garam since middle school told Koreaboo.
After this announcement, LE SSERAFIM, the first all-girl group to debut under HYBE, will be continuing its activities with its five remaining members: Sakura, Chaewon, Kazuha, Eunchae and Yunjin.
Tags: #kpop, #music, #HYBE