Vogue takes down Seolhyun's video following Mina's remarks on AOA bullying

Vogue Korea took down AOA member Seolhyun's interview video with the magazine, Monday. Screen captured from Twitter

By Lee Gyu-lee

Vogue Korea has taken down its interview video of AOA member Seolhyun Monday after it was met with a hail of criticism following the former band member Mina's additional account on her suffering from the group leader Jimin's bullying.

The fashion magazine shared a “What's in My Bag” video of the 26-year-old singer on its YouTube channel, Saturday. The video showed an interviews with Seolhyun as she showed items in her purse to give a glimpse of her personal life to the viewers.

“This year has been tough on everyone,” Seolhyun said. “But I came to realize that I have so many people supporting me, which gave me this responsibility to stay afloat. It really meant a lot.”

However, the video backfired as many still blame her for remaining silent and turning a blind eye on the former AOA leader Jimin's bullying of Mina. The video received more dislikes than likes, and one commenter wrote, “You don't know how serious bullying is.”

Vogue Korea took down the video two days ago but has not made any comment.

AOA's bullying scandal, which made headlines last year, has come under the spotlight once again with the recent surge of such incidents in the entertainment scene here. K-pop artists Lee Na-eun from April and (G)I-DLE's Soojin, and actors Ji Soo and Park Hye-soo are a few of those facing such allegations.

Mina, a former member of AOA / Courtesy of Namoo Actors

Last July, Mina revealed that she had been bullied by Jimin for almost a decade, sharing in detail her traumatic experiences in two separate statements on social media. She said the bullying led her to attempt suicide several times and eventually to leave the group in 2019.

She also called out Seolhyun and the CEO of the group's agency FNC Entertainment Han Sung-ho for doing nothing to stop the abuse, saying they were “unbearably trashy people.”

Jimin and the agency issued an apology regarding the scandal and announced that Jimin had agreed to leave the group. Seolhyun and the remaining members ― Yuna, Hyejeong, and Chanmi ― have not spoken out on the issue.

On the day Seolhyun's Vogue video was uploaded, Mina spoke on social media regarding the effects the bullying had on her. She expressed condemnation toward some of the media referring to her as a “good example” of the bullying scandal in the entertainment scene.

“Some of the articles outrage me… Because they make it sounds like the offender admitted their wrongdoing and apologized to me, and like I'm taking out my rage on an innocent person by framing her,” she wrote, referring to Jimin. “The offender didn't apologize to me. She wouldn't even admit to some of the things she did, saying she doesn't remember. Is that a typical tactic offenders use?”

Adding that she regrets how she couldn't stand up to Jimin and the agency even after exposing the bullying, she encouraged other victims of bullying to come forward.