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'Apologize to Soojin' trends amid bullying rumors: K-pop fans rally for (G)I-DLE star, dub her 'innocent'

Before things got out of hand, the 22-year-old crooner released a statement to clear the air

K-pop singer Seo Soo-jin better known by her stage name Soojin, was all over the headlines for all the wrong reasons after an individual claimed that the singer, who is part of the girl group (G)I-dle, had bullied his young sister when they were in school. The controversy soon caused mayhem and the singer’s management Cube Entertainment first stepped ahead to check on the allegations.

Before things got out of hand, the 22-year-old crooner herself released a statement where she clarified what exactly happened and soon the hashtag #ApologizeToSoojin was trending on Twitter. A lot of her fans rushed to the micro-blogging site to slam the accuser and also claimed how innocent the singer was.

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What exactly is the controversy?

On February 20, someone claiming to be the older sibling of a victim of Soojin’s alleged bullying posted on an online community. According to the website Soompi, the older sibling wrote, “[Soojin] called my younger sister and her friend to the bathroom and made them slap each other in the face and sent out a group text that said, ‘From now on, OOO (my sister) is an outcast.'”

The individual continued, “My little sister went to Waw Middle School and was born in 1998. She lives in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. I’m planning to carefully write out and post about the details on an online forum later. I feel apologetic towards the other [members] besides the perpetrator, but I can no longer turn a blind eye to the painful time my sister experienced. The girl who slapped my sister, took her money, and bullied her has become an idol and shamelessly shows her face on TV.”

Soon a person claiming to be the younger sister and the victim of the alleged bullying also came forward with the allegations against Soojin, as reported by the same website. She stated, “After [Soojin] took me to a bathroom in a shopping complex, she said, ‘I’ll hit her first,” and suddenly slapped me in the face. Then she told my friend who came with me, ‘Now it’s your turn to hit her,’ and made my friend hit me. My friend and I had to slap each other in the face.” She added, “She would make me drink the beverage she had opened and left unfinished and then take my money, saying that I had finished her drink and had to pay her for it. She took other people’s uniforms and wore them, borrowed money and didn’t return it, stole other people’s belongings, cursed at other students when they refused to give her their belongings, noisily roamed around the town riding behind one of the older boys who had a motorcycle, drank alcohol, and smoked.” The apparent victim also mentioned, “I went to the same academy as her, and one day, I wasn’t able to go, but she texted me to come no matter what. I apologized and said it wouldn’t be possible, but from then on she and the group of delinquents sent out a text to me and everyone else saying, ‘*** is an outcast from now on.’ I was so scared that I called her and kept apologizing.” 

Soojin’s management comes to the rescue

Before Soojin came ahead to speak on the much-controversial matter, her management Cube Entertainment released an official statement regarding the same. According to the website Soompi, it read, “First, upon checking with Soojin herself about the post about (G)I-DLE’s Soojin that is being spread online, it was found that the creator of the comment is the older sister of Soojin’s classmate from middle school. It is true that the poster heard Soojin and her classmate arguing over the phone and had an argument with Soojin after taking over the call. However, we have confirmed that the poster’s claims about school violence and such were not true at all.

It further read, “We ask of you so that the members, who are doing their best in every moment to achieve their dreams and are moving forward step by step, will not be hurt anymore. We are planning to take legal action under the criminal law and take all other measures we are able to take as a company against all those who have indiscreetly posted false claims with malicious intent. We inform you that we will show no leniency towards the perpetrators who will be punished in the future. Last December 15, Cube Entertainment established a committee dedicated to the protection of artists’ rights and interests and have been continuously monitoring the spread of false rumors, insults, and sexual comments and edits designed to cause humiliation toward our artists. We are working on filing criminal complaints through a law firm. Once again, we thank all those who show lots of love and interest for (G)I-DLE, and [we at] Cube will do our best with all of you for the protection of our artists." 

Soojin denies bullying allegations

The middle-school bullying allegations got heated up to the level that Soojin herself came ahead to clear the air on the matter. According to the website Korea Boo, Soojin in an official statement said, “Hello, this is Soojin. I gave it a lot of thought before writing this message. Back when I used to be a student, I was always the center of attention. So it is true I had all kinds of negative rumors following me around. Yes, I sometimes wore outfits that may have been inappropriate for my age and I also did smoke a couple of times. But I was young and lost at the time. Since then, I have quit and never smoked again. I tried to become a better person, but I know that some of my past actions have caused problems. And I know I’m the one to blame for what is happening to me right now. But there are some things that are honestly not true. I usually let the malicious rumors blow over. But I know that this has caused my fans to worry tremendously. So I would like to address everything.”

The statement further says, “I don’t know if you guys will be able to believe this, but I’m going to tell you what happened as I remember. I’ve always considered myself a friend to the girl who accused me of bullying. I remember having been invited to her house and sharing a meal with her family. I also remember having gone to the movies with her and her older sister. In fact, the older sister once helped me when another sunbae from school was sending me threat messages and giving me a hard time. I’ve always been grateful for her and remembered her as a good person. Anyway, after reading the post, I finally realized why the friendship kind of fell apart. From what I remember, I had a fight with the girl because she wasn’t good at keeping promises. So I got mad at her for it. Maybe that was her way of trying to keep her distance with me. But at the time, I didn’t know. I know it sounds horrible, but I also remember cursing at her over the phone. The older sister heard me and she scolded me about it. I apologized and hung up. Since then, the girl and I really drifted apart and never really made up.”

With an intention to make things very clear, Soojin added, “I really want to make this clear though, about the allegation made against me. First, I have never gotten physically violent with the girl. Second, I have never ridden a motorcycle in my life. Third, I have never sent a group text message, trying to get other classmates to bully the girl with me. Fourth, I have never tried to take school uniforms by force or steal other students’ belongings. Last, I have never spoken to actress Seo Shin Ae when we went to school together. I’m sorry if she felt offended by what happened though.” She concluded, “And I’m sorry. I really don’t remember what happened at the juice shop, although I would like to believe that I didn’t do such a thing.  I’m sorry for having caused this controversy involving my personal life. And I apologize to everyone whom I may have hurt with my thoughtless actions in the past.

‘Soojin you're too precious’

Soojin got massive support from the Internet as a majority of them believed how innocent and kind the singer was. One fan said, “You deserve only the best White heart we love you and believe in you.” Another stated, “#ApologizeToSoojin Apologize for the purest and kindest heart! I will not forgive you how you thought of saying such and such !!” One added, “Soojin you're too precious, this world don't deserve you. we love you so much.”

The next one said, “To anyone who dragged her while she’s innocent #ApologizeToSoojin she is the kindest person i’ve ever seen, the purest and the sweetest, i knew SOOJIN WOULD NEVER DO THAT S*!!T” One posted, “I love you heart we all make mistakes nobody is perfect do not feel bad about your mistakes we love you.” One said, “How can u make up such horrible things on her pls look at her she’s one of the nicest person ever Soojin I love you so much. #ApologizeToSoojin” Another concluded, “Ruining an idol image and reputation IS NOT A JOKE. Their personal lives and relatives does not have to be involve with the Kpop industry. To whatever bad choices she done in the past is past.. you can’t go back to it and change the past. Soojin is innocent.”