T-ARA's Bullying Incident Reignited After 12 Years, Hwayoung Reacts On IG

Kim Kwang-soo, CEO of MBK Entertainment, home to the K-pop girl group T-ARA, has once again mentioned the group's bullying scandal 12 years ago, which made former member Hwayoung speak up.

On the 9th, CEO Kim Kwang-soo appeared on MBN's 'Let's Go (Season 3)' and mentioned the infamous T-ARA bullying incident. I told Hwayoung and her sister Hyoyoung to bring their contracts and tore them up. I said, 'Get out. I'll let you go unconditionally. Go do your jobs.' The CEO's statements expressed support for T-ARA's original members and painted Hwayoung as 'the victim who has become the perpetrator.'



After the broadcast was aired, Hwayoung took to Instagram and posted a lengthy response, addressing the alleged bullying within the group. She apologized in advance for causing concern over the uncomfortable topic and asked why CEO Kim brought up the issue again after a whopping 12 years.

I watched a show where my former agency CEO spoke about T-ARA's bullying incident, and after thinking about it over a hundred, a thousand times, I have decided to write this with difficulty. I do not understand why he made biased and distorted statements so I will tell you the truth. As a person involved in the bullying incident in 2012, I felt a lot of self-blame as I caused various controversies and disbandment of my beloved group.

In her post, Hwayoung expressed her anger and shared detailed experiences as a bullied member. She addressed accusations and clarified her side, which she hadn't dared to do in the past 12 years. Once again, she said that the bullying was real and that she was not pretending to be a victim. She also mentioned that the original T-ARA members verbally and physically abused her, which she only endured while hoping that things would get better over time.

When my contract was terminated, I had a lot of evidence to prove that I was being bullied, but CEO Kim told me to keep quiet or else he would also terminate my sister's contract. I was only 20 years old, so I thought that was the best option. In the end, I left the group without receiving any apology and I have kept quiet for 12 years.

Hwayoung also mentioned the T-ARA members and said that the girls appeared on various shows while making statements that were different from the truth, putting an end to the bullying incident. She recalled watching these shows with her parents and feeling powerless because they couldn't do anything while her name was being dragged and painted as the bad guy.

I am currently alone without an agency, so I know I cannot fight the CEO who has been very influential in the industry for over 40 years. Nevertheless, the reason I can tell you this is because I am confident that I can reveal the truth about that time



With CEO Kim's statements and Hwayoung's post, netizens' response has been divided. Some expressed their support and encouraged the former T-ARA member to move forward. On the other hand, others remained skeptical and still blamed Hwayoung for T-ARA's controversies and the group's eventual fallout.

• This is why the victim's silence and tolerance only encourages the perpetrators to go on a rampage. They have to blow it all up in the first place. Over time, they steal the victim's position.
• I knew that Hwayoung was the victim but at some point, the tides changed and T-ARA became the victims?? I was freaking shocked. I was wondering if it wasn't just negative virality
• She must've felt so frustrated and sadㅠㅠㅠ I hope that Hwayoung succeeds
• when ur in a gaslighting competition and ur opponent is ryu hwayoung
• Unnie, I’ve believed in you from then until now.
• Wow, things from the past still haunt us to this day…
• People who support Hwayoung are probably hypocrites at work, too. It’s ridiculous…
• people believing hwayoung again… i beg u all to research ANYTHING before u speak on t-ara

GIVE T-ARA A BREAK

Even though the whole truth about her actions has been revealed, Hwayoung has been spreading bullshit on Instagram, and it's really funny to see her contradicting what she said in 2017. Anyway, I just want peace for the girls, because they've been hurt a lot. pic.twitter.com/AsQGl6llwR

— JIYEON GLOBAL (@JiyeonGlobal) November 10, 2024

t-ara drama being revivied after 12 years thanks to their useless ceo and now hwayoung wants to chime in too if both of them dont shut the fuck up already

— jen 🇵🇸 (@ningshidae) November 10, 2024

hwayoung witnessed t-ara downfall and never said a word, she got exposed for what she and her sister did to ahreum and kept quiet... now everyone moved on t-ara 4 doing their thing... and she decided to be a liar mess again.

girl you need to stop you got what you wanted. ENOUGH

— ꒰ঌ ⭐︎ ໒꒱ (@ovemyungsoo) November 10, 2024

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