Chaewon continues lawsuit against Hyunjoo whose bullying charge led to APRIL disbanding
Many K-pop groups either disband due to unsuccessful comebacks, the label’s decision or the members’ solo aspirations. However, APRIL had the saddest disbanding story as they broke up due to bullying allegations. In early 2021, member Naeun and the group as a whole was embroiled in two bullying scandals. While Naeun’s case was resolved with her accuser confessing that the rumors were fake, APRIL’s case is still ongoing. Former member Hyunjoo had claimed that the group had bullied her to the extent that self-harm was involved.
Many also think that Hyunjoo left APRIL because she had been bullied by the group members. The allegations were first brought to light by the former K-pop idol’s brother and close friends. They shared that it was especially Chaewon who bullied Hyunjoo and slept with their manager to keep him quiet. The general public immediately dropped APRIL and the group went on hiatus for a year before disbanding on January 8, 2022. However, Chaewon hopes to clear all rumors as she continues her lawsuit against Hyunjoo.
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Hyunjoo's bullying claims
In 2021, the members had first done an exclusive interview where they pointed out loopholes in Hyunjoo’s stories. APRIL, their label DSP, their managers and staff and their parents took the stance that the girl group was innocent. They filed a defamation lawsuit against Hyunjoo and her brother. Unfortunately, the court deemed them not guilty as they shared Hyunjoo was only sharing her perception of the events where she felt she was bullied rather than spreading false facts. But since fans themselves felt that there were some discrepancies in Hyunjoo’s claims, they started supporting APRIL again.
Yena shares reason for APRIL disbanding
But the girl group disbanded before they could clear their name. A day after disbanding, member Yena wrote a heartwrenching letter. She shared that even though they had enough evidence to prove their innocence, the damage to their reputation had been done. She shared that the name of APRIL was sullied and they could never recover which is why they disbanded. She felt helpless that she could not convince the general public that the bullying did not happen and so withdrew her lawsuit against Hyunjoo.
Chaewon continues legal action
However, Chaewon is following through with her lawsuit with a vengeance. On February 2, she posted a lengthy YouTube video explaining her side of the story and the actions she would be taking against Hyunjoo. She would be filing an appeal against the decision that Hyunjoo has been found not guilty of defamation.
Chaewon's appeal is based on the claims that Hyunjoo’s witnesses kept changing their story; APRIL’s lawsuit fell through because their witnesses were allegedly biased while Hyunjoo’s biased witnesses were allowed to testify; Hyunjoo’s proof was her diary; there are witnesses ready to testify that Chaewon did not sleep with a manager to keep the bullying a secret; there are contradictions between Hyunjoo’s claims and publicly-known information like the fact that APRIL allegedly bullied Hyunjoo in their dorm from 2014 to 2016 but they did not have a dorm and didn't live together till 2015; and the factor that Hyunjoo’s friends have no proof of the alleged conversation where APRIL bullied Hyunjoo.
Watch the whole video below.
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