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Did HYBE know of Garam's bullying past before announcing her in Le Sserafim?

HYBE's new statement is an in-depth explanation of what happened according to Garam which is why fans are having a hard time believing it

It seems that the alleged victim’s new revelation has opened a floodgate. After HYBE continued to maintain that Le Sserafim’s Kim Garam is innocent of all bullying rumors and that she is actually a victim, the accuser’s law firm has revealed an in-depth statement. They shared that their client - who was only a minor - was being sued by HYBE despite her claims that she only wanted an apology from Garam and not any monetary compensation. Following Knetizens, even international fans have now dropped the 16-year-old K-pop idol.

Well, some went a step further as the Korean media decided to dig into the Le Sserafim member’s past with HYBE. With K-pop idols being dropped by agencies for much less from fake rumors to no evidence, many wondered why HYBE was trying so hard to defend Garam despite several believable claims of her bullying her classmates. Herald Pop released an exclusive report that claimed they had connected the dots between Garam’s own statements and that of the law firm and believed that she had auditioned to join HYBE after she was suspended for bullying.

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Did Garam audition after being suspended?

A couple of days ago, before the messy updates of May 19, a school violence committee document had been leaked that mentioned Kim Garam as a bully. Instead of denying it and assuring fans that it was fake, HYBE and the school gave ambiguous responses that they could not comment on it. However, according to the victim’s testimony and her law firm, Garam had been accused of bullying in May 2018 and had been called in front of the school violence committee in June, which raises questions about the Weverse interview where Garam talks about how she became a K-pop idol.

She shared that a friend had asked her to go to an audition and she started preparing for it in 2018. Herald Pop claims that if the victim and Garam’s statements are true then she probably auditioned to join HYBE and Le Sserafim after being suspended from school for bullying. In the meantime, the label has shared another statement that goes into detail about the rumors and how the alleged victim had actually also bullied a classmate. They again explained that Garam was innocent and actually a victim due to the fake rumors created by the alleged victim. Garam is to go on a hiatus while HYBE collects evidence and gets on with the case.

‘They know that Garam did something’

However, fans are not having it since they believe that HYBE’s new statement is simply Garam’s words against the victim’s. One fan tweeted, “This statement is so stupid. they know that garam did something but they dont want her to be accountable for it. i feel bad for the victim. garam, hybe and soumu can all go to hell.” Another fan claimed, “It says that they will secure evidence meaning they have none and will be looking for evidence so for all we know garam could be lying about this too.” One user commented, “She has to be a nepo baby bc the victim already reached out to hybe before her debut—didnt ask for compensation just an apology will do but they ignored her & published articles saying garam was the one bullied. i feel so bad for the victim if she finds out hybe's defending.” Another wondered if she made up her audition story, “Her interview is similar to so mamy celebs. It is like a common story, she must have made up that story.”

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