Did Seo Minjae spread rumor of ex-Winner member's meth use for clout? Nam Taehyun responds
Trigger warning: Mention of drug use and suicide
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: Nam Taehyun might have left his K-pop group Winner, but their fans still love and support him while he has gotten a new fandom after forming the rock band South Club. In most cases, if a group member leaves due to a scandal of sorts, fans end up dropping them. But that wasn’t the case for Nam Taehyun, who was the youngest and much-loved Winner member. He was often also commended for his composing skills as he had co-composed three Winner songs in their debut album itself. And so when girlfriend Seo Minjae claimed he was a meth user, many were torn over the news.
While bands usually get overshadowed by K-pop’s idol groups, Nam Taehyun's band South Club is also pretty popular in South Korea. Taehyun made the move and decided to leave Winner due to mental health issues. He had later spoken up about the dangers of cyberbullying in K-pop after the national crisis where f(x)’s Sulli died through suicide due to immense hate. With mental health still considered taboo in South Korea, many were quick to believe the rumor that Nam Taehyun had been using meth after Seo Minjae posted about it on her social media on August 20.
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Seo Minjae takes back claims
With South Korea being extremely strict regarding drug use, the police immediately started an investigation after Seo Minjae shared and then deleted her post hinting at Nam Taehyun’s alleged meth use and that he hit her. She later shared that the rumor was fake and that she only posted it because she was angry at the former K-pop idol. This led to many bashing her online and claiming that she had only created the rumor for clout to enrage Winner and South Club fans. But Nam Taehyun has also finally responded and corroborated his girlfriend’s claims.
Nam Taehyun responds
On August 21, Seo Minjae took to Instagram to squash the rumor. The ‘Heart Signal 3’ star said, “I had fought with my lover yesterday due to both of our mistakes. At that time, I had taken more than the prescribed amount of medication I was taking for psychological matters, due to stress, and I lost my senses to the point where I cannot remember what happened accurately even now. Because of that, I had uploaded posts that were unrelated to the truth and I am also now in the hospital as I got hurt mistakenly. This post comes late as I was receiving treatment. And we have reconciled with each other. I’m sorry to have worried so many people.”
Nam Taehyun has also put up an apology on Instagram. He shared, “I would like to apologize to everyone who was shocked because of what happened yesterday. Sometimes, there may be fights between a couple. However, we have reconciled. I sincerely would like to apologize for causing harm to a lot of people because of my personal problem.”
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