Exclusive "T-ARA's reaction to Hwayoung's leg injury was shocking".

The controversy over bullying of the group T-ara, which had subsided below the surface, has emerged in 12 years. Can the case that did not reach a clear conclusion at the time be concluded this time?

Kim Kwang-soo, CEO of MBK Entertainment (former Core Content Media), who recently appeared on a broadcast, mentioned the T-ara incident in the past, and the second round of Truth and Justice was held for the first time in more than a decade. "In my opinion, the T-ara members went ahead with the broadcast because they were not at fault," he said, adding that he was sorry. The fact that T-ara is not at fault was interpreted to mean that she has never been bullied.

In the end, attention is focused on the truth of the incident as Hwa-young refuted, saying, "It is true that the members of the T-ara bullied him, and they also assaulted and verbally abused him." "At the time, there was a lot of data to prove the bullying, and I tried to express my position through a press conference, but I accepted CEO Kim's offer to terminate the contract even if it was kept silent," Hwayoung said. "In the end, he left without receiving an apology and has been keeping silent for 12 years."

Among them, YTN star contacted two officials who were in charge of rap training for trainees and artists from Core Content Media when T-ara was active.

Lee Joo-hyo, who was in charge of training the company's singers between 2010 and 2013, said, "It is true that Hwa-young was bullied," adding that she had seen a group chat window of T-ara members at the time.

Lee said, "I've seen the conversations of T-ara members in the group chat room. Ahead of the Japanese performance, Hwayoung injured her leg and was unable to walk properly and was swollen. Because of this, Hwa-young apologized for not being able to go on stage with her. Usually, people react like "Get well soon" and "Don't worry." But all the members said, "LOL". It was so shocking," he remembered.

He said, "As already known, members shot one person (Hwayoung) by posting 'Difference of Will' and 'Applause to Genius' on Twitter." Bullying doesn't necessarily apply to physical things. Hwayoung said, "I thought a lot about the bullying of the members, and I also said I wanted to quit T-ara."

Also, "Hwayoung continued to call the members 'T-ara kids' even after her debut." He said he did not feel a sense of belonging to the group called T-ara.

What was the cause of the conflict within the group? Lee said, "I think the existing members were disappointed with the new members coming in. It's not that I don't understand. You may think that the members who come later will get spoons. I don't mean to advocate, but they were all young. Idol members often split or fight, he said. "I knew at work that I lived in the living room because no one wanted to share a room with Hwayoung," and pointed out, "The company should have mediated."

Trainer Tarae, who worked with Core Content Media between 2010 and 2011, said, "I didn't directly witness (the harm), but Hwayoung said Hwayoung is having a hard time and the members seem to be hush-hush. There was an idea that it was strange. I didn't do that at the beginning of my debut, but Hwayoung's complexion got worse and worse."

He said, "Idol groups have factional fights and pushed each other, so I just thought T-ara was in a similar situation. "I didn't know it would be that bad," he said. "One day, Hwayoung came with her cheeks red, so I asked her why, and she just tried to gloss over it. Anyone could see that it was a hit mark. I questioned him, "I think this is right." Then he said, "I got hit by OOO." That was one of the things that (the bullying of the members) was visible," he said.

As for Hwayoung's leg injury, which was the beginning of rumors of discord, he said, "When I hurt my leg, I apologized to the members and asked them to come on stage, but I remember saying that it was unfair (because I was misunderstood)." I wanted to go on stage because I had ambition, but I wasn't the type to pretend not to perform."

Tarae said, "At first, only people knew it, but after rumors of bullying became known to the public, there were many words that were criticized even inside the company, such as Hwayoung's abuse of power against Cody. When I asked Hwayoung, she said, "I felt very unfair, saying it wasn't true," adding, "The company was never on Hwayoung's side." If Hwayoung sided, T-ara would go to the abyss. If it's bullying, the problem is serious, but if Hwayoung bought and hit it alone, it's not serious, so just one person needs to break it."

Regarding the situation at the time, I also inquired several times to CEO Kim Kwang-soo to hear the position of the former T-ara agency, but did not respond.

[Picture = Hwayoung's Instagram, core content media, Twitter capture]


* YTN star receives reports related to celebrities and people in the entertainment industry. Please feel free to contact us at
ytnstar@ytn.co.kr . Thank you.