Kim Rahn is the managing editor of The Korea Times. Since joining the company in 2003, she has covered various beats including the presidential office, Seoul city government, the Bank of Korea and the tourism industry. In 2014, she won the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) award for her coverage of the ordeals of migrant women in Korea.
HYBE denies school bullying rumor involving Le Sserafim member
Kim Ga-ram of Le Sserafim / Courtesy of Source Music
By Kim Rahn
By Kim Rahn
HYBE has denied the rumor that Kim Ga-ram, a member of its soon-to-debut girl group Le Sserafim, was a school bully, saying it would take legal action against those spreading groundless suspicions.
The company and Source Music, a label under HYBE that works as an entertainment agency for BTS, said Wednesday that they checked the facts about the rumor which had been spreading online since Tuesday after their announcement of Kim joining the new idol group.
“We believe the rumor was spread with malicious intent to defame the artist ahead of her debut. Source Music has launched legal responses against falsified claims and suspicions regarding her,” they said in a statement.
The companies said the school bullying rumor was a fabrication based on some problems she had had with friends during her early middle school days, adding that they confirmed, through third parties, that Kim was a victim of school bullying herself.
“The suspicions are insulting to Kim who is still underage. We'll take stern legal actions against those who raised the suspicions, without any settlement or leniency.”
Since Tuesday, the school bullying allegations have been emerging on social media and online communities, coming from people claiming to be Kim's schoolmates, that Kim bullied other students during middle school in Seoul.
Le Sserafim is HYBE's first girl group and the company has been disclosing the members of the sextet act ― one per day ― since Monday. Sakura, who was a member of the now-defunct project group IZ*ONE, was the first to be disclosed, followed by Kim and Hong Eun-chae. The girl group is set to debut next month.