06 DSP Second Statement (Answer to the Friend's allegations)
- On Jeon Somin
Jeon Somin became a trainee at our label when she was 16 and has been working hard for a long time. She worked hard as the leader of April after she debuted. It is false that she hated or bullied any member. Somin and Chaewon were trainees together for 3 years and were close already, so there was no reason for Chaewon to bully someone else to get close to Somin.
- On the tumbler
There are 40-50 tumblers in the dorm, and the members had put dwenjang stew in one of the tumblers for the members to eat at the label. Hyunjoo said it was hers, and Naeun apologized right away. Hyunjoo also ate together with the members.
- On the shoes
The label bought 2 pairs of identical shoes per member for a total of 12 pairs. Four of the members had the same size, and this is just what happened because of that.
- On cursing at a member before broadcast
It is false that a certain member was cursed out before broadcast.
- On their livelihood
The label checked the CCTV of the training room where Hyunjoo claimed she was bullied, but we found nothing. We are letting you know that we shared this with Hyunjoo and her mother as well.
- On the manager
It's true that April members were close to their female manager, who was with them 24/7. Dating the manager is a complete rumor and there is nothing she stayed silent on because she liked a certain member.
- On greeting Hyunjoo's mother
The April members realized it was a serious situation and greeted her silently because they didn't know what to say. This was a misunderstanding from that.
The label further confirmed that they would be taking legal action against any false information being spread.
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07 YENA SISTER
"There is no such thing as bullying or outcasts in [APRIL]. At that point in time, the members were just young kids who were unable to accept all of [Hyunjoo’s] whims. [Hyunjoo’s] emotionally-charged actions were just another weight for her colleagues to bear within the hard job as an idol.
In order to hang on and stay awake back stage, everyone had to visit the hospital, receive treatment, and take medicine. [Hyunjoo] claimed her health wasn’t doing well and slowly started to miss practices. There were days when she did not return to the dorms, and as the occurrences increased, the members were always feeling insecure.
Ultimately, while promoting their comeback on music shows, [Hyunjoo] said she did not want to work and disappeared. As she failed to attend two broadcasts, the members had to stay up until dawn to rearrange the choreography and pull through a highly intensive schedule. Eventually, the members crumbled under the stress they had suppressed. People who saw them cry during rehearsals will know. The people who were harmed by this weren’t only the members.
As time passed, the members went to therapy and were able to consider this as an experience and live their own lives.
But you still asked for an apology? I assure you, the one that frowned on television due to these past events is you. Was [Hyunjoo] really hurting solely due to the members? I also read the posts from acquaintances that listed specific instances and claimed the members were the perpetrators. I don’t know just how much these matters were distorted or if information was left out or made up.
Talking down, not apologizing, ignoring…
In those posts, the members were devils that can’t function properly in society. How can you not include the accounts of everyone involved, and instead, turn the members into evil perpetrators?
I know that, including [Hyunjoo], everyone is currently trying to work hard at their own jobs. With everything happening, facing a variety of hurt is inevitable. However, I’m not sure if this is something to harm someone else’s lives over.
I know that, that post was written without proof and for a certain purpose. That’s why I cannot just stand by without doing anything as the misunderstanding and biasness grows worse in this aggravated situation. The members shouldn’t be hurt more than they already have. I appeal to you to not shoot the arrows of criticism towards the company and members anymore.
Thank you for reading this long message."
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08
Hyunjoo's alleged younger brother began by writing, "I realized that my sister's agency and the acquaintances of the April members are not self-reflecting at all and showing so signs of guilt after seeing all the negative messages sent to my parents," explaining the reasons he was uploading a new post. He explained, "They failed to include exact reasons in their claims and I want to share the truth because I feel my sister is the only person becoming a strange person."
He continued to write, "First, my sister wanted to become an actress when the company was starting to form the girl group, April. She was ostracized even before the debut and she had told the agency many times that she doesn't think she can debut with the group. However, the company convinced her many times telling her to think about it a few times. She used to practice alone in her room while watching the video the company sent her as she said she doesn't want to cause the group trouble when she went back. So she didn't drop out of the group because she wasn't able to act but because she was ostracized."
Then he continued to say, "The agency said, 'she was not able to diligently participate in various activities with the group because of her physical and mental health,' but the members took turns bullying her, and it became worse when they debuted. She started to form health issues when she had no place of haven where she can get away from all the pain. She had to endure everything by herself, so she started to become sick."
Hyunjoo's brother wrote, "My sister often fainted while continuing the activities and practices. The members and the manager who knew she was sick didn't bring her to the doctors right away but left her. Ultimately, my sister suffered from respiratory difficulties and other illnesses, so she went to different hospitals for treatment. What should my sister have done when the people around her say she wasn't diligent when she was actually sick."
He also counterargued the agency's statement that said there was no clear victim and perpetrator to the situation since the members were all victims of the given circumstances. He wrote, "The agency said that there were no clear victims or perpetrators, but that is wrong. My sister told the agency numerous times that she was being ostracized and bullied. The members of April will all know what they did. My sister was having so many difficulties at the dorms that she had to sleep on the waiting room floor and take showers at the company while promoting 'Tinkerbell.'"
He further explained, "That's when she came back home during her promotions and cried out loud telling us what had happened. She told us that someone left rotten food on her seat in the van. When she was cleaning it up and spraying perfume, the members and the manager came into the car and cursed at her, saying it smells. These things happened so many times that my sister even tried to take her own life. Still, the agency came to her hospital and told her to come back for promotions. She couldn't handle it anymore, so she decided to leave the group."
Hyunjoo's brother further claimed that DSP Media was negligent about the group's bullying and asked everyone to help her get over her pain. He concluded by saying, "I hope that everyone stops and helps my sister get over her pains. Also, I want the members to self-reflect and apologize."
08A
"The company claims that while my noona wanted to be an actress, she was placed in the team after their persuasion. However, my noona had been undergoing training to be an idol. She was made an outcast right before her debut, so she believed she could not debut with this team. She told the company her thoughts on the matter, multiple times. But the company persuaded her time and time again to take a few days off to think about it.
She returned in hopes that the bullying issue would get better but that didn’t happen. Rather, it became worse than before. She believed she couldn’t take back her decision [about ultimately joining] and continued to hope that things will get better, so she took it upon herself to bear the situation. As a result, her body was unable to take it any longer.
During schedules, practices, and on her way to and from the company, there were many instances where she fainted. The members and manager knew she was sick, but didn’t bring her to the hospital immediately. They left her (laying) there. Ultimately, noona experienced much pain and difficulty breathing and tried to recover while attending various hospitals.
I remember that they didn’t let her take her medicines properly because it caused her to become drowsy, and it would get in the way of their promotional activities and practices.
It is true that the company gave the members sneakers as gifts. The members got a pair each, with a total of 6 pairs. The member involved in the situation had a different design from my noona. As the member had the same size, noona waited for the other member to choose first and then took the pair that was remaining.
However, from some point in time, that member kept wearing my noona‘s shoes and when noona asked her about it, she said she bought it herself. After checking that [noona’s] name was written on it, the member threw the shoes and told her to take them."
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