Former APRIL Member Hyunjoo Responds To Accusations Of Not Providing Evidence During Police Investigations

Former APRIL member Hyunjoo has shared a new statement responding to recent accusations and requests for clarification.

Earlier this year, Hyunjoo’s younger brother and someone claiming to be her high school classmate made online posts alleging that the reason she left the group in 2016 was that she was bullied by the other members. The APRIL members—as well as their agency DSP Media, which housed both APRIL and Hyunjoo at the time—have repeatedly denied the allegations, leading to a public dispute in which Hyunjoo and her former bandmates have made contrasting claims about what took place during her time in the group.

DSP Media also went on to file both criminal and civil lawsuits against Hyunjoo and the individuals who made the initial allegations. The police later dropped the charges of defamation made against Hyunjoo’s brother and one of her friends, leading to another public dispute between Hyunjoo’s lawyers and the agency. DSP Media claimed that the charges against her brother had merely been dropped because the police determined that he’d believed what he was saying to be the truth, not that they had actually substantiated his claims—but Hyunjoo’s lawyers asserted that the police had validated his claims of bullying, presenting as evidence part of an official police document with certain parts omitted.

Meanwhile, Hyunjoo is still undergoing police investigations due to two members of APRIL pressing criminal charges against her for defamation.

Recently, months after the initial controversy, there have been a growing number of calls in the online sphere for Hyunjoo to explain certain aspects of her previous claims and to clarify specific omissions from her medical records. For example, some individuals noted online that while Hyunjoo had claimed in her initial statement that the bullying began in 2014, when she had to live in a dorm “24 hours a day with the perpetrators,” Rainbow had allegedly lived in APRIL’s dorm up until the beginning of 2015, suggesting that she could not have lived with her bandmates in 2014 as she’d claimed.

Other individuals noted online that while Hyunjoo’s brother had described the tumbler in the oft-discussed “tumbler incident” as particularly precious because it had been given to her by her late grandmother, her grandmother had still been alive at the time of the incident.

Additionally, APRIL member Chaewon’s mother recently accused Hyunjoo on social media of failing to provide concrete evidence during police investigations and of refusing to meet for a face-to-face investigation (in which the plaintiff and defendant are interrogated together at the same time).

In light of the above developments, some individuals have called for Hyunjoo to provide evidence (such as text messages or medical records) proving that she was bullied. In particular, some have questioned why she did not submit to the police the “text messages of blame” that she claimed to have received from the APRIL members’ parents in her initial statement from earlier this year.

On September 15, Hyunjoo took to Instagram to post a statement responding to some of these claims. She first began by updating her fans on the various charges that had been pressed against her, her brother, and her friends, before moving on to her side of the story.

Her statement is as follows:

Hello, this is Lee Hyunjoo.

Because the subject matter is unpleasant for both me and for all of you listening to these words, and because this is not something that can be resolved immediately just from my talking about it, I’m trying as much as possible not to talk about this until the police investigation is over. But because many people are currently expressing frustration about the situation and sending me messages asking me to share, I’m writing this post despite feeling worried about it.

First, to explain the current situation, I’m doing my best to submit as much evidence as I can find in response to the criminal charges against me, my family, and my acquaintances. There were additional lawsuits filed against me after I posted my statement, so there are now a few more cases than before.

To explain the basics of how the cases are going,

In my brother’s case, although the defamation charges against him were dropped, the plaintiff appealed the decision, so the prosecutor’s office is currently carrying out the appeal procedures.

In my first friend’s case, the charges of defamation against her were dropped, and though the plaintiff appealed the decision, the prosecutor’s office ultimately cleared her of all charges.

In my second friend’s case, she was investigated by the police on the charges of defamation, and she is currently awaiting a decision.

DSP filed an additional complaint against me for obstruction of business, and after undergoing police investigation, I was cleared of the charges.

APRIL member A pressed charges against me for defamation through law firm B, and the police are still in the investigation stages.

APRIL member C also pressed charges against me for defamation through law firm D, and the police are still in the investigation stages.

It’s true that because there are so many cases and the expenses are quite high, it’s very difficult. I’m diligently cooperating with the investigations, and in light of the many people who are rooting for me, I will resolutely endure them so that I can deliver good news.

Additionally, as for the few things that many people have been asking for explanations about,

Regarding the face-to-face investigation, I have never refused a face-to-face investigation, and I have never received a request for face-to-face investigation in the case for which I was accused of making a refusal.

In terms of my medical records, I’m sorry, but this is something that is too sensitive for me to post publicly, and I also don’t want to reveal them because they might be upsetting. Once again, I ask for your understanding about this, and since I submitted everything to the investigating authorities, if you wait, I will inform you of the results.

Regarding the APRIL members’ parents’ text messages of blame, I did not submit them to the investigating authorities because they were not directly related to the charges against me, my brother, or my friend. It’s true that when we received the texts, my family and I felt very hurt at the time, but looking back on it, I think that it’s possible that the members’ parents simply sent their thoughts from a parent’s perspective by text. That’s why I don’t plan to reveal them, and though I will reveal them if every single one of the APRIL members requests it, I doubt and worry whether there’s any need for me to do so.

At the time of the tumbler incident, my grandmother was in very bad health, and she has now passed away. Back then, she had not been able to recognize me, and when she heard that I would be living in a dorm and would not be able to visit often in the future, she gave me a tumbler that she already owned. So it was a tumbler that was precious to me and that I always carried around with me.

In terms of the document stating that the charges against my brother had been dropped, it was revealed with the evidence and citations erased. The lawyer thought that without knowing who the plaintiff was, if the evidence was revealed and there were any people considering pressing additional charges against me, they would be able to see the evidence beforehand, which would be disadvantageous for me. We revealed the document in order to show that the police had acknowledged that I was bullied and that DSP’s press release was different from the truth, but the lawyer [omitted the evidence] because they thought that for people who are not familiar with these kinds of legal documents announcing the police’s decision, the description of the evidence and citations could cause another controversy. Additionally, the plaintiff is able to access the document announcing that the charges were dropped, so if the plaintiff decides that they need to do so, they can always reveal the document, and [the lawyer] also took into consideration that this process would allow us to find out who the plaintiff is.

Although these incidents are very much all in the past, they are still extremely difficult and burdensome for me to talk about publicly. Despite this, I was able to make it all the way here thanks to the people who thought of me, and I think I will be able to make it out in the future as well. I sincerely thank the people who believe in me and support me. Time has passed, and it’s already fall. I hope that these cases are wrapped up quickly, so that I can greet you all with happier news.

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