Kim Garam

Le Sserafim's Kim Garam is exiting the girl group. After Korean forums accused her of bullying, her labels, Source Music and HYBE, refuted the allegations ...

“Le Sserafim will continue their activities as a five-member group, and we will spare no effort to support the group.” Garam has yet to make a statement of her own. “Contrary to the claims, it was confirmed through a third-party statement that Kim Garam was a victim of school bullying, including malicious rumors and cyberbullying, when she was in middle school,” Source Music wrote in a statement translated by Soompi. “Source Music has taken legal action against the spread of unilateral and distorted allegations and false information related to this case. “Our company has decided to terminate the exclusive contract with Kim Garam. We extend our sincerest apologies to our fans and to those who have shown love and support to the group,” the statement reads. Although Garam wasn’t officially booted from Le Sserafim, Source Music and HYBE decided to place the controversial star on indefinite hiatus. “I will work hard as a member of Le Sserafim.” The group’s leader, Kim Chaewon, added, “I think the company will have an opportunity to talk about this in more detail later.” Even though the statement doesn’t directly address Garam’s bullying past, it does deny rumors that lit up the internet — including allegations of smoking and drinking, being forced to transfer schools, and using vulgar language. Many of these posts claimed that Garam was a famous iljin, which can be loosely translated as “school bully,” and that one of her alleged victims collapsed after hearing that Garam was going to join a girl group. Source Music and HYBE denied all the allegations and claimed that Garam was a victim of both cyberbullying and school bullying herself. “They are taking a daring stance and saying right from the outset that they will stand at the very top,” wrote Source Music. “The group’s name, LE SSERAFIM, is an anagram of the words ‘I’M FEARLESS’ … It is like an incantation to guarantee their success on the merit of their unbreakable poise and strength.” But that poise was challenged just hours after Garam was introduced to the public. What was worse, some messages and posts even shared photos of Yoo Eunseo, blurring her out and threatening her with messages like, ‘Thanks for taking care of the blur. One post, shared on the Korean forum The Qoo, purports to show Garam posing with friends in front of a chalkboard covered in drawings of nude figures, ejaculating penises, and a cartoon image of someone being penetrated. After eight weeks of performing as a five-piece, the labels announced on July 20 that Garam would have her contract terminated and Le Sserafim would continue with just members Sakura, Chaewon, Yunjin, Kazuha, and Eunchae. How did we get here?

HYBE and Source Music announced on Wednesday, July 20 that they had terminated Kim Garam's exclusive contract and she had left K-pop group LE SSERAFIM.

Thank you." It has been announced that LE SSERAFIM member Kim Garam has exited the group and her exclusive contract with HYBE and Source Music has been terminated. Why Has Kim Garam's Contract Been Terminated? LE SSERAFIM Star Exits Group

LE SSERAFIM Officially Becomes Quintet Following Kim Garam's Departure: The K-pop artist was called out for bullying her peers in school.

LE SSERAFIM, which is the first all-girl group to debut under HYBE, was embroiled in controversy when accusations of Kim bullying students in school surfaced online. LE SSERAFIM will continue their activities as a five-member group, and we will spare no effort to support the group to grow further as artists through their music and performance.” LE SSERAFIM Officially Becomes Quintet Following Kim Garam's Departure