After aespa's groping incident, Gyeongbok High School issues second apology
Fans of SM Entertainment girl group aespa (Aespa) have been expressing their displeasure with the label for not taking any action over the groping incident involving the girl group. On May 2, after the groping incident involving aespa members who attended the anniversary ceremony at the Gyeongbok (Kyungbock) High School was made public, fans of the girl group were furious at the label for sending the girl group to an event without proper security.
Soon after the outrage around the incident, the school officially posted an apology for the misconduct of the male students involved. But much to the surprise of fans of aespa, the apology did not seem like one, instead, it was pointed out how the school was trying to shift the blame from themselves. In the original apology, the school stated that the boys involved in the assault were not part of Gyeongbok High School but other schools.
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Gyeonbok High School takes down their original apology
After the school’s insincere apology, enraged fans, who believe that the school was trying to wash their hands off the incident, started calling out the school and SM Entertainment over the issue.
After the backlash, the school board deleted their initial apology which had not assuaged fans. MYs (fans of aespa) questioned SM Entertainment’s ethics and wondered why the label has chosen to keep silent about the issue as Lee Soo-man (CEO of SM Entertainment) is a Gyeongbok High School alum.
This has again led some fans to call the CEO out for mishandling the groping incident that was evidently traumatizing for the aespa members.
to those who are asking why they would send aespa to that school, apparently it’s because that’s lee soo man’s alma mater
— 🖤 (@slitherina) May 2, 2022
SECURE THE SAFETY OF AESPA @SMTOWNGLOBAL @aespa_official https://t.co/o5nElADUrl
men are absolute fucking trash and aespa deserves better and i absolutely hate lee soo man for sending them there
— nadi 🌻 (@aeriownsme) May 2, 2022
The school issues a second apology towards aespa
On May 3, a second apology was posted by Gyeongbok High School in which they tried to take some responsibility for the groping incident. The school stated that members of aespa were special guests at the celebratory event which took place commemorating Gyeongbok High School’s 101st anniversary. The school stated that they were apologetic over the incident.
The school also stated that despite trying to establish order during the event, the students of Gyeongbok High School acted immaturely during the performance as well as after the event. The school pointed out that various posts and videos around the groping incident had been released online. The school then stated, “We intend to educate all students regarding proper event etiquette and gender sensitivity immediately, as to prevent such events from occurring in the future.”
Gyeongbok High School also added, “We sincerely apologize for defaming SM Entertainment’s artists - aespa due to this incident.”
