Source Music Releases Statement Denying School Bullying Rumors Against LE SSERAFIM's Kim Garam

LE SSERAFIM’s Kim Garam’s agency Source Music released a statement denying rumors involving her middle school days.

On April 5, Source Music revealed Kim Garam as the next member of new girl group LE SSERAFIM. On the same day, claims that she was involved in school violence started to surface on different online communities.

One netizen claiming to have graduated the same middle school as Kim Ga Ram ((henceforth referred to as “A”) said that Kim Garam would message her juniors on Facebook if they didn’t greet her properly. “A” added that Kim Garam would also drink and smoke.

Another person claiming to be Kim Garam’s middle school classmate stated, “She really did all sorts of things then. Light bullying was a given, and she would hurl curse words at you if you passed by.”

One online post included a conversation which was allegedly from Kim Garam. According to the messages, she used harsh language to threaten someone who wasn’t answering their phone.

There was another allegation that a student collapsed at school and went to the emergency room due to Kim Garam’s actions. Another netizen released a photo showing Kim Garam and her friends posing against the backdrop of a blackboard that contains explicit images.

Source Music released a statement denying these allegations.

The full statement is provided below:

Hello, this is HYBE.

We would like to inform you about our position regarding the suspicions related to Kim Garam, who has been confirmed to debut as a member of LESSERAFIM, a girl group from Source Music under HYBE.

Since yesterday, there have been accusations made against her on various websites, and we have conducted an internal verification process. The results are 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.

In addition, it was confirmed that the rumors, such as that Kim Garam was a trainee at another agency or that she leaked internal documents, are not true.

We believe that the allegations are maliciously intended to harm the artist who is about to debut, and we inform you that Source Music has taken legal action against the spread of unilateral and distorted allegations and false information related to this case.

Therefore, we sincerely ask you to refrain from speculative reporting based on suspicions that are currently being maliciously raised online.

Furthermore, the allegations that have been raised contain defamation of character against someone who is still a minor before her debut as a celebrity, and we would like to clearly state that we will take legal action without any settlement or leniency.

Thank you.

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