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Is HYBE trying to sweep Garam's scandal under the rug? Label in talks with the victim for settlement

The victim’s legal team stated that they are in talks with HYBE for a 'solution' in the matter of Le Sserafim member Kim Garam’s school bullying scandal

It does seem like Kim Garam’s scandal may be coming to an end soon but at what cost? The rookie idol and member of HYBE Labels’ first girl group managed by its subsidiary, Source Music, Le Sserafim was accused of being a school bully as additional claims were made one after the other by more victims. If it were the case for any other country, school bullying would not have been considered to be a major scandal but since bullying is a major issue in South Korea that has caused a real threat to victims both mentally and physically, Kim Garam’s controversy needed to be addressed.

Le Sserafim’s Garam’s controversy blew up over a period of seven weeks after initial claims first surfaced in April 2022. After much development in the scandal, a new report suggests that HYBE is trying to settle Garam’s scandal with the victim and their legal representative Daeryun after the legal firm was asked to comment about the controversy. Garam made her debut with Le Sserafim but as more and more “evidence” was threatened to be released by alleged victims and after a public statement was made from the victim’s legal firm Daeryun, there was no way for the scandal to be ignored by HYBE any further.

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Is HYBE trying to settle Kim Garam’s scandal?

The label, HYBE via Source Music immediately released a new statement that was scrutinized by the public because it was entirely based on Kim Garam’s retelling of her side of the story. Garam was put on a hiatus as the label apologized for causing concern among fans. Recently, a representative on behalf of HYBE Labels reported that they have no plans of letting Kim Garam go, who in the opinion of fans, should be kicked out of Le Sserafim as she was bringing the name of the label down.

After HYBE’s response, fans began wondering if Garam came from an influential family which is why the label was not willing to drop her. On May 23, Daeryun released a statement revealing that they do not have any new developments as they were currently discussing a solution to the scandal with HYBE. It was also announced that HYBE’s representatives had also made a visit to the school in order to clarify the scandal.

‘HYBE is trying to sweep this under the rug’

Fans are discussing how HYBE is trying its best to sweep the scandal under the rug to save Garam. One fan said, “Hybe is not saying s**t about garam anymore they are trying their hardest to sweep this under the rug.” One fan bet, “Who wants to bet that hybe won't kick garam out and will sweep everything under the rug and make most people forget about her case?” One fan guessed, “I think hybe cares about their pride rn. Since they already started with defending garam. I mean if there wasn't any evidence/proof that document has two stories in it, they should've let her go in instant.”

One fan said, “Hybe is in mess right now first the garam bullying issue haven't resolved before debut it's almost 2 months now and this bobby chung the sex offender? no wonder why they are being hated by knetz now.” But one fan defended the 16-year-old saying, “It's crazy to me that if she's innocent people still want her gone just so they don't have to be uncomfortable about all the cruel sht they did or allowed to happen to a 16 year old.” One fan said, “Hybe should issue Garam a public apology, better recorded with video, if they want to show sincerity out of this mess,” while another responded. “I think now its totally out of hands , how could public accept this.”