K-pop bullying scandal: Soojin of (G)I-DLE denies picking on classmates, including actress Seo Shin-ae
- Soojin was accused by an unidentified woman of bullying her sister, and rumoured also to have picked on actress Seo Shin-ae at school
- Hyunjin of Stray Kids, ex-IOI member Kim So-hye and Loona member Chuu also faced accusations of bullying
By Dong Sun-hwa
Soojin, a member of K-pop girl band (G)I-DLE, denied on Monday that she had bullied her classmates when she was at school. The allegations against the star are the latest in a snowballing bullying scandal involving South Korean celebrities
Her denial comes two days after a woman, who identified herself as a sister of a victim of bullying, accused Soojin of forcing her sister and her friends to slap one another in the face and stealing money from them.
In recent days, allegations of bullying have also been levelled against Stray Kids member Hyunjin, Kim So-hye, a former member of IOI, and Loona member Chuu.
Soojin, 22, apologised for causing a stir but denied the accusations. “I thought she [the alleged victim] and I were close friends – I am ashamed to say this, but one time I cursed at her on the phone for breaking promises repeatedly and her sister scolded me for that,” Soojin wrote on fan community U CUBE, operated by her agency, Cube Entertainment. “I apologised, but after the incident, my friend and I drifted apart. But I never bullied her physically nor stole her belongings.”
She added: “I was one of the students who stood out. There were rumours about me. As a student, I put on inappropriate outfits for school and smoked cigarettes a few times out of curiosity, which I no longer do. I think what I did in the past was the seed of this incident.”