South China Morning Post
Advertisement
Advertisement
K-pop idols
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
A Vogue Korea video interview with Seolhyun of girl group AOA had to be removed from its YouTube channel after a backlash from angry K-pop fans. Photo: FNC Entertainment
LifestyleK-Pop

K-pop bullying backlash hits Seolhyun of AOA and April’s Naeun as fallout from scandal grows

  • Magazine Vogue Korea had to remove a video interview with Seolhyun it posted on its YouTube channel after a backlash from angry K-pop fans
  • Naeun was also in the news after accusations of bullying former bandmate Hyunjoo as well as being a bully while at school
K-pop idols
Tamar Hermanin United States
Why you can trust SCMP

K-pop stars Seolhyun of AOA and Naeun of April faced a backlash in South Korea this week as the bullying allegations rocking the industry continue to take a toll.

On Monday, Vogue Korea removed a video interview with Seolhyun it had posted on its YouTube channel two days earlier. This came after former AOA member Mina accused Seolhyun of turning a blind eye to bullying by former AOA group leader Jimin.

Vogue Korea came under fire for publishing the video and many K-pop fans rallied around Mina, who last year revealed that she had left AOA in 2019 because of the alleged bullying.

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

Seolhyun had been accused of turning a blind eye to bullying by former AOA group leader Jimin. Photo: FNC Entertainment
The AOA bullying scandal returned to the spotlight recently after allegations of bullying were levelled against various K-pop stars, including Naeun, Soojin from (G) I-DLE, and Hyunjin from Stray Kids.
Naeun faced repercussions this week after she was accused of bullying former bandmate Hyunjoo and of being a bully while at school.
Naeun from April has been accused of bullying former bandmate Hyunjoo. Photo: DSP Media.

On Monday it was announced that she would be leaving the cast of television show Taxi Driver and would be replaced by a new actor.

She is the latest actor to be recast after allegations of abusive behaviour by celebrities. Popular actor Ji Soo was recently removed from the show River Where the Moon Rises and replaced with rising actor Na In-woo, after several people accused Ji of sexual assault and other abuses. 

Earlier this month, a person claiming to be Hyunjoo’s brother accused the members of April of ostracising his sister. He also claimed that the star suffered panic attacks because of the abuse and had no choice but to leave the group in 2016.

Post