Ryu Hyoyoung was initially criticized for attacking T-ARA, who allegedly bullied her twin Hwayoung 12 years ago, but the tables turned following her recent statement.
As the T-ARA bullying case in 2012 resurfaces, Hwayoung's older twin addressed her past involvement and defended why she did that to protect her younger sibling.
On November 11, she said through Instagram:
"We were around 20 years old at the time when we left our hometown alone for Seoul. We only depended on each other, thinking that there were no adults that we could rely on. During that time, I heard a shocking thing from my sister.
She (Hwayoung) told me that she was being bullied by the T-ARA members, and also said, 'It's so hard,' and 'I miss my sister.' The result of trying to stop my younger sister from being bullied was my text message incident."
In 2012, Hwayoung accused her former group T-ARA of physically and verbally assaulting her, leading to the team's downfall.
But later in 2017, a staff who worked together with them claimed that the twins were lying.
The staff also revealed a screenshot of Hyoyoung's messages threatening former T-ARA Areum such as, "I'm going to get you beaten up at 'Music Bank,' just wait," "I'll scratch your face so you can't do broadcast," and "Dogs need to get hit to come to their senses."
In 2018, Hyoyoung and Areum made amends, but in the former's statement, she apologized once again and added:
"I realized that it was foolish to send that text message, and I still regret it. I apologized to Areum previously, but I still feel sorry."
However, the former idol-turned-actress also explained that as a 20-year adult with no one to rely on, she had to do it as an older sister.
READ ALSO: Hwayoung Insists T-ARA Bullied Her Refuting Ex-CEO's Revelation: 'I Had Several Evidence'
"I was afraid that my sister would make an extreme choice if I just sat back and did nothing. I think you all know that it was the best I could do when I was young and lacking to protect my precious family."
Seeing how Hyoyoung apologized to Areum and her sincerity in protecting her younger sister, the table has been turned and the public sympathy now goes to her.
Here are some of the comments from netizens:
- "Honestly, if my younger sibling was being bullied, and I thought that Areum, whom I took good care of, was involved, I would also go crazy. In the end, the misunderstanding was resolved, she apologized, and Areum forgave."
- "I understand emotionally what kind of mind you had."
- "It's a family matter, so wouldn't it be strange to react that way? In the end, the reason Hwayoung held back and kept her mouth shut was because she was thinking of her older sister, and the reason Hyoyoung sent that text was because she was thinking of her younger sister."
- "If it were my family, I would have made a fuss and said 'I would kill them,' too. But she sincerely reflected on it and apologized."
- "Honestly, I would have done worse if it had happened to my younger sibling. I'm not saying that Hyoyoung did a good job, but you can't use this to argue both sides."
- "She's only 20 at that time? I'm thirty now. If my younger sister had been through something like that, I would still be doing the same thing even though I'm thirty. It's a family affair, so I understand."
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