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Recently, new evidence allegedly claimed that Kim Garam was a bully. The testimonies surfaced on online platforms in the form of school violence committee or disciplinary committee notices that named her a student perpetrator.
The year of the notice was stated as 2018, while the victim’s name was redacted. As the alleged evidence spread like wildfire across the internet, Source Music told the South Korean news outlet Star Today that they “have started taking legal actions.”
Source Music responds to new allegations against LE SSERAFIM’s Kim Garam
Allegations against LE SSERAFIM’s member Kim Garam have swept South Korean online forums. The 17-year-old idol is part of HYBE and Source Music’s new girl group, which debuted on May 2, 2022.
However, she was initially embroiled in a school bullying controversy in April 2022, when she was introduced as a group member.
Recently, an anonymous netizen uploaded a photo of the school violence committee’s notice which stated the teenage idol's name as the perpetrator. The title of the alleged notice reads,
“School Violence Measures Autonomous Committee Result Notification.”
Under the heading, it states “Case No: 2018-3,” and the table reads as follows:
“Perpetrator Student: Grade 1, Class 3, Kim Ga-ram.”
As the notice started doing rounds on local and international forums, Source Music commented that they had started legal action. The agency also stated that “the details will be covered through legal procedures.”
The notice elicited strong yet contrasting responses. Social media continues to be filled with a side that seems to debunk these allegations, while others demand that HYBE or Source Music remove the 17-year-old from the group.
LE SSERAFIM’s agency denied school bullying allegations from the offset
Just a few hours after Kim Garam was revealed to be a member of LE SSERAFIM, several netizens claimed that the teen idol smoked, hurled curses, abused, made se*ual jokes, and even slandered BTS’ V and girl group, IVE. These netizens claimed that they were the 17-year-old idol’s classmates.
After the school bullying controversy hit social media, HYBE first denied the allegations on April 6, stating that the opposite was true. It noted that the allegations were malicious and that the female idol was instead the victim of bullying.
An excerpt from the statement reads as follows:
“The recent allegations were cunningly edited to maliciously slander Kim Garam over the events that occurred during the time when she was making friends in the early stages of middle school.
Contrary to the claims, it was confirmed through a third-party statement that Kim Garam was a victim of school bullying, including malicious rumors and cyberbullying, when she was in middle school.”
The company even stated that they would take strict action and show no leniency to netizens who threatened to defame a minor.
