MBK Entertainment founder Kim Kwang Soo, who produced T-ARA, has broken his silence on the bullying scandal after a decade.
On November 9, MBN’s “Let’s Go” will feature PD Kim as a guest. Before the show, the former CEO of Core Contents Media (hereinafter MBK Ent) shared anecdotes about his artists before the company closed.
Among them, he particularly criticized the T-ARA and Ryu twins, Hwayoung and Hyoyoung, who became controversial figures in South Korea in 2012 after the brothers accused the group of bullying them when Hwayoung was still on the team.
At the time, she was an additional member, and after suddenly leaving the group in July of that year, numerous allegations surfaced that she had been mistreated by the original members, supported by spliced videos showing how she had been alienated during promotion.
T-ARA denied this accusation, but the Ryu twins have already gained public sympathy. The group’s career hit rock bottom for five years until they were able to prove their innocence in 2017, when MBK staff finally had the courage to reveal that it was actually the Ryu twins who were bullying against the team.
In the recent program, therefore, PD Kim revealed that before the accusation, he had already terminated the twins’ contracts after committing violations, but the Internet was quick to make up speculations about bullying.
Since the members were young, their parents asked the company to hold a press conference and expose what the twins had done to the T-ARA, but since he was also thinking about the flak the Ryus would suffer, he decided to remain silent.
READ ALSO: T-ara members reveal how they managed to reunite despite being under different agencies
After about 12 years, Kim Kwang Soo finally faced reality and clarified for the first time:
“The members of T-ARA didn’t do anything wrong, so we carried on their activities. But the public had negative opinions about it and said, ‘How much power does Kim Kwang Soo have in the entertainment industry to carry on their activities?’
At the time, my perspective was, “I don’t care if I get cursed.” If you (T-ARA) stop, you will never be able to recover. I’ll take care of everything. You just have to keep going.'”
On the same show, Kim stated that he is still close to the members; therefore, he always regrets that things would have turned out differently if he had made another decision at that time.
RELATED ARTICLE: Where are Hwayoung and Hyoyoung now? Status of the “Ryu Twins” after T-ara’s bullying scandal
For more K-Pop news and updates, keep your tabs open here on KpopStarz.
KpopStarz owns this item.
Written by Eunice Dela Cruz
