AOA's Shin Jimin finally wrote a letter of apology over the alleged accusation of bullying of former bandmate, Kwon Mina.
Jimin is currently bombarded with persistent bashing, condemning her as a "bully," after Mina's series of confessions on her SNS. On July 4, she finally broke her silence as she took to her Instagram account to express her apology. She shared a black photo, accompanied by a lengthy letter.
She said, "I know this short letter will not be able to express everything, but I sincerely apologize. As a leader, I lack so much in leading my team. I regret all the things that I did and I surely feel guilty. I could not understand Mina and I was very careless towards her. I cried and begged to her yesterday. I am crying again, but I know it will not clear up how Mina feels towards me instantly. I am so sorry."
She added, "I was in my early 20s and I thought our team has to look good to other people and staff. It led me to lead the group selfishly. I am a leader who still lacks a lot. I am sorry for causing this controversy. I am sorry for the post I had posted carelessly before. More than that, I am sorry for Mina and the other team members who have given their effort for me and Mina."
Unfortunately, Mina responded using her personal IG, which she deactivated later on, to refute Jimin's words.
She wrote, "You begged?? You begged?? I will say everything I need to say before I leave. You said that you did that so I can walk on the right path. Someone said that you brought a man to the dorm and had sexual intercourse with him. You should start walking on the right path yourself first. You should not have lied. I know that until the very end, you did not want to apologize and you still hate me. You know what? I will never forget the look in your eyes when you walked in. I will pay you back exactly the same thing you have done to me once I die. All the eyes and ears that were in my house (yesterday), you guys are no different. Shin Jimin unnie must be so blessed. It must be nice for her. Everyone is on her side. Unnie, you won. I lost. In the end, I lost."
The bullying controversy stirred anger in the K-pop community, given that bullying is a sensitive issue in society as whole, that to some extent, led the victims to do something extreme.
It's not the first time that K-pop artists have encountered such issue from fellow members. First generation idol S#ARP has one of the most disturbing bullying scandals in K-pop. Lee Ji Hye confessed that she was severely bullied by co-member Seo Ji Young and her family. This led to the disbandment of the group as the manager sided with the victim later on.
FNC Entertainment also released their official statement over the withdrawal of Jimin from AOA and halting all her activities.
