MEAWW.COM / ENTERTAINMENT / K-POP NEWS

Fans 'disappointed' in HYBE and Garam as Le Sserafim's activities halted for her bullying

Fans are upset that all of the girls have been put on a mini-hiatus because of Garam's controversy

Trigger warning - This article includes comments about suicide and bully

It looks like unless HYBE and Kim Garam can bring irrefutable evidence, the 16-year-old K-pop idol’s reputation is completely tarnished. After Le Sserafim’s company reiterated that Garam is not only innocent, she is a victim, the accuser’s law firm has released a damning statement. The alleged victim had been traumatised by Garam’s reported bullying to the point that she had had suicidal thoughts. The internet was horrified and has taken to slamming HYBE and Garam for not showing any remorse.

Following the victim’s revelations, we got a third statement from HYBE and Source Music as they once again shared that the Le Sserafim member is innocent and that they need some time to revisit the case and release a properly detailed statement. Well, it seems like things might have turned chaotic as the latest update from the K-pop label is that not only Garam but the whole group’s activities have been canceled for the moment. Source Music shared on Weverse that Le Sserafim’s filming on May 20 for the music show KBS’ ‘Music Bank’ at 3 pm KST (2 am ET) had been halted.

READ MORE
Music Bank's reason for Lim Young-Woong's score has fans assured Le Sserafim's win was rigged

Did Le Sserafim’s Garam mock Sakura's 'nose job'? Fans say: ‘I would slap her’

Le Sserafim’s activities canceled

Furthermore, the girls could not even interact with fans. Le Sserafim was supposed to have an online fansign event following their stage at ‘Music Bank’ at 8 pm KST (7 am ET). Since fans had won an entry for the ‘Music Bank’ pre-recording through a lottery system, Source Music asked for their understanding. However, for the fansign, there is still some hope. The agency shared, “The video call fan signing event will be held on a separate schedule and fans selected will be notified as soon as possible.” And while they have not given a direct reason for this sudden update, many are confident that it has something to do with Garam. The agency ended its statement by saying that it would soon reveal its position on Garam’s allegation after reviewing the case.

‘Seems like Hybe is starting to wake up’

Netizens are wondering if this is a move to kick out Garam out of the group. One user asked, “So finally they're going to kick her out?” One user wondered as to why HYBE did not check in on Garam in the first place before debuting her, “I don't get it, did they not do background check at all?? Or are these records all just private with no names because they are minors and things happened when she was 12?? how does this work, like you would think these companies, and yes source music, even though they are broke, hybe is their parent company, so does hybe not have the ability to do that??”

Another commented, “Let's gooooo Seems like Hybe is starting to wake up. They shouldve never let her stand on stage while the issue was unresolved.” Meanwhile fans were upset that the other Le Sserafim members were being punished instead of just Garam, “Punishing the rest of the girls instead of putting her on hiatus is the dumbest shit I have ever seen. I thought DSP handled the April situation horribly but holy shit wtf SouMu?” one fan added, "The latest annoucement from weverse is in korean and someone said they cancel their fansign today and soumu currently reviewing her position as le sserafim member. Honestly, you make me dissapointed garam :(."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.