Amid popularity, THIS idol was unfortunately falsely accused of school bullying which led her to withdraw from the group. After leaving Korea for the U.S., the star updated on her recent status.
On March 13, the Korean media outlet Lady Kyunghyang released an interview with Kim Taerin, popularly known as Daye of the girl group, Berry Good.
What Happened to Daye's School Violence Case? Former Idol Narrates True Incident
Earlier in 2019, Daye caused a frenzy when an anonymous author accused her of bullying them when they were in elementary school, to which they allegedly suffered physical violence and sexual remarks from the K-pop idol.
At the time, the star faced backlash and criticism, but she was quick to deny it and filed a lawsuit against the accuser in 2020.
In August 2023, after about a four-year battle, she won the case but it was too late since her team Berry Good met its unfortunate disbandment in 2021. She wasn't able to go back to the music scene as well due to the wound in her name that couldn't be erased immediately.
ALSO READ: THIS Third-Gen Idol Finally Cleared Bullying Allegations 4 Years After Rumors Arose
Regarding how the case concluded, Daye revealed that the accuser was only fined 3 million KRW (about 2.3k USD) for defamation and false information, and she didn't receive even a light apology.
"In the end, my parents helped me file a lawsuit, and my homeroom teacher at the time even came and testified, so I was able to clear my name.
I told them I would drop the lawsuit if they gave me a sincere apology, but they didn't do it until the end. I don't know why they did that. Maybe their memory was distorted or they wanted to relieve their resentment by blaming it on a real person.
I won the case, but the wound didn't heal. All I wanted to do was erase everything from my name and the title that I had on stage as a girl group."
Daye Reveals Status After Moving to US, Desire to Start New Career as Actress
After leaving the group due to the issue, Daye revealed that she suffered from social phobia and panic disorder, which caused her to lock herself in her room for half a year.
She was treated for about six months and with the concern of what would be her next career path aside from being an idol, she tried attending a speech academy and flight attendant school but she didn't fit in.
Fortunately, she discovered her love for studying foreign languages and to start anew, she took a language course and departed from Korea to San Diego, California, USA.
Overall, she was happy with her stay as she was finally able to experience a school schedule, lead a regular life and hang out with friends from various countries. This made her healthier physically and mentally.
However, Daye, who chose her new school because it was known for having the fewest Koreans who could recognize her, wasn't able to run away from the strong influence of K-pop.
During her school, she also had a hard time after a Japanese male student recognized her and a famous Tiktoker also watched her fancam videos on YouTube.
Despite all of these, Daye, who will move forward as Kim Taerin announced that she is preparing to open her new career as an actress.
READ MORE: Where Is Berry Good Now? Status of Group's Last Four Members After Disbandment
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Written by Eunice Dawson.
