A sharp conflict is expected to begin over another school bullying case in the entertainment industry. Mukbang YouTuber Nareum, who has 2.63 million subscribers, confessed that she was a victim of school bullying in elementary school, and Choi Tae-woong of the group BZ-BOYZ, who was identified as one of the alleged perpetrators, denied it as clear falsehood.
On the 18th Nareum posted on her personal social media a video titled "the story of a school bullying perpetrator who even created an anti-cafe against me debuting as an idol."
In the video Nareum said, "A few years ago I was flipping through TV channels and the audition program 'Produce 101' season 2 appeared and I saw a familiar face. It was one of my school bullying perpetrators," adding, "At the time Daum cafes were all the rage and if my name was Nareum, it meant a group that disliked Nareum, so they created the 'Nasitmo' cafe and every day they wrote insults about me and giggled. The 10-year-olds were pretty sly."
She said, "I remember telling my mother because I couldn't bear it, having a meeting with my homeroom teacher, and crying on the way home saying, 'If I die, will that person be punished? I hope they are punished.' Even after 20 years I remember the atmosphere and the conversation from that day."
Nareum said she later looked up the perpetrator's account on social media and sent a message but was ignored. She said, "That person failed and did not debut from that program, but now debuted with another agency. I don't wish them to fail. They are not a very famous idol yet, but just as everyone has their shining time, that person's shining time will surely come," and added, "I was very young then, so I would appreciate at least a single apology."
Afterward, suspicions arose that Choi Tae-woong, who has the same birth year and birthplace as Nareum, might be the perpetrator, and on the 24th he posted on his personal account the official statement of the law firm Hwaon, indicating legal action.
In the released statement, Choi Tae-woong's legal representatives at the law firm Hwaon denied, saying, "Recently, YouTuber NareumTV posted videos on Instagram and TikTok asserting that 'an idol who debuted after failing to appear on Produce 101 was a school violence perpetrator in fourth grade,' and in relation to this an allegation has been raised that the person involved is Mr. Choi Tae-woong. However, we make clear that such allegations are manifestly false."
They continued, "Mr. Choi Tae-woong did not commit the violent acts alleged by YouTuber NareumTV during his school years, nor did he cause any physical or mental harm," adding, "Nevertheless, following the posting of the above video, subsequent reports have continued, numerous malicious comments have been posted on Mr. Choi's social media, and unfounded rumors are being indiscriminately spread, causing serious defamation damage."
The law firm said, "Accordingly, Hwaon, on behalf of Mr. Choi Tae-woong, has taken civil and criminal legal measures for the infringement of rights due to the dissemination of false information, and strongly requests that the related videos and posts currently posted be immediately deleted." The firm added, "We hope that unconfirmed claims and speculative content will not cause further damage, and we will hold legal responsibility to the end to prevent additional harm."
But Nareum did not remain silent either. On the same day she posted, "I received a really absurd direct message.. I'll say just one thing. People who hit others usually don't remember," writing. She continued, "I received a DM from a netizen claiming they had written a statement accusing me of telling falsehoods and that they would sue me and demand the video be taken down. But I never spoke falsehoods, so I will not delete the video," she emphasized.
She said, "If perhaps I changed my name after becoming an adult and you don't remember, the cafe's name was 'Gyengsitmo', the time was 2003, and at the time I was in class 7 of fourth grade," adding, "At that time there was an official meeting in class 4-7 with the homeroom teacher, the cafe members, my parents, and me, and the homeroom teacher ordered the cafe to be closed, so the cafe was actually closed."
She explained, "Those who can handle dating will know that although the 2003 Daum cafe Gyengsitmo is now closed, records can be traced," adding, "Also, the reason I changed my name as soon as I became an adult was because of the trauma caused by that cafe."
Nareum strongly refuted Choi Tae-woong's claims, saying, "As is often said, perpetrators say they don't remember. If you are misremembering because of my name change after I became an adult, I hope you meant to mention the lawsuit in that way. However, it is questionable on what grounds you say you will sue me," and she released kakao talk messages exchanged with an acquaintance.
Meanwhile, Nareum said she plans to produce and release a video about the situation.
[Photo] SNS
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