On November 11, Ryu Hyo-young said: “The reason I’m posting this is to explain the bullying incident involving my younger sister and my text message incident.” He continued: “Hwa-young told me that she was ostracized by T-ara members, saying things like “It’s too hard” and “I miss you, sister.” The texting incident was the result of me trying to stop them from bullying my sister.“
Ryu Hyo-young admitted: “I know it was foolish to send those messages and to this day I regret it. I previously apologized to Areum for the messages and I’m still sorry.“He added:”But I was only 20 years old and I couldn’t do anything. I was afraid that my sister might make a terrible choice if I didn’t do anything. I hope everyone understands that this was my immature and inadequate way of trying to protect my beloved family.“
On November 9, T-ara’s past bullying controversy resurfaced due to CEO Kim Kwang-soo’s comments. In the third season of MBN’s “Let’s Go Go”, CEO Kim acknowledged past conflicts between T-ara members, stating, “I asked Hwayoung and her twin sister Hyoyoung to bring their contracts and tear them up, telling them, “Go away.” I will release you without any conditions. Go pursue your career.’ THE [remaining] The T-ara members did nothing wrong, so we continued their broadcasts.In response, Hwayoung retorted “I don’t understand why they make biased and distorted comments about an incident that happened 12 years ago“, stating that the bullying was real and alleging that she had suffered verbal and physical abuse from T-ara members, reigniting public interest in the truth of the controversy.
Adding to the controversy was the revelation of Ryu Hyo-young’s threatening messages to T-ara’s newest member, Areum. In 2017, after the Ryu sisters appeared on a broadcast discussing the bullying incident, a former T-ara staff member, identified as “A”, revealed these messages. “A” claimed that Ryu Hyo-young sent messages to Areum saying things like: “I’ll dust you off at the ‘Music Bank’. Just wait“,”I’ll scratch your face so you can’t go on TV” AND “Dogs only listen when they are beaten.” At the time, Ryu Hyo-young apologized, saying he acted out of a protective instinct towards his sister, who was struggling, but still faced harsh criticism.
Now, after seven years, Ryu Hyo-young has addressed the incident again with an apology. It remains to be seen whether this apology will shift public opinion in his favor.
Source: Daum
