Recently, Kim Kwang-soo, CEO of MBK Entertainment (formerly Core Contents Media), appeared on a broadcast and discussed the T-ara controversy, opening a new chapter in the truth battle over a decade later. His comment, “I believed the T-ara members did nothing wrong, so I went ahead with the broadcast,” sparked the renewed controversy, as this statement implied that T-ara had not engaged in any bullying.
In response, Hwayoung countered, “It is true that the T-ara members bullied me, with physical and verbal abuse being frequent.” She further claimed, “There was a lot of evidence to prove the bullying back then, and I intended to hold a press conference, but I accepted CEO Kim’s offer to stay silent in exchange for terminating my sister Hyoyoung’s contract, who was in the same company.” She added, “In the end, I left without receiving an apology and have remained silent for 12 years.”
In the midst of this, YTN Star managed to contact 2 individuals who handled rap training for Core Contents Media’s trainees and artists during T-ara’s active years.
Lee Joo-hyo, who trained singers at the company from 2010 to 2013, confirmed Hwayoung was bullied and recalled seeing T-ara’s group chat. Lee Joo-hyo noted, “I saw their group chat once. Before a concert in Japan, Hwayoung injured her leg and couldn’t walk properly, and it was swollen. She apologized for not being able to perform on stage with the others. However, the members simply replied with ‘ㅋㅋㅋㅋ (LOL),’ and that was really shocking.”
Lee Joo-hyo also mentioned, “As is well known, the members posted identical comments on Twitter, such as ‘It’s all about willpower’ and ‘Applause for the genius,’ directly targeting Hwayoung. Hwayoung struggled a lot and even expressed a desire to leave T-ara.”
Lee Joo-hyo added, “Hwayoung kept referring to the members as ‘those T-ara kids’ even after debuting, which showed she didn’t feel a sense of belonging to the group.”
Lee Joo-hyo suggested the conflict stemmed from existing members resenting Hwayong’s addition and criticized the company for failing to mediate, as Hwayoung even had to live in the living room due to isolation.
Another trainer, Tarae, who worked with Core Contents Media around 2010–2011, reflected, “While I didn’t directly witness any incidents, Hwayoung often expressed her struggles, and the other members seemed to keep things under wraps.”
Tarae noted that cliques are common in idol groups, but T-ara’s case seemed worse than expected. Tarae recalled Hwayoung once showing up with a red cheek and later admitting she’d been hit by another member.
Regarding Hwayoung’s leg injury, Tarae stated, “I remember Hwayoung apologizing to the members and asking to join them on stage despite her injury, expressing frustration at being misunderstood. From what I know, Hwayoung isn’t someone who would fake an injury to avoid performing. She had ambition and wanted to be on stage.”
Tare also mentioned, “Initially, only a few people knew about the bullying, but after the rumors became public, there were suddenly numerous accusations against Hwayoung, even from within the company. When asked, Hwayoung would deny them and express frustration. The company did not take Hwayoung’s side. If they had, it could have damaged T-ara’s image. In their eyes, the issue was less serious if only one person was causing trouble rather than the whole group.”
Multiple inquiries were made to Kim Kwang-soo, the former CEO of T-ara’s agency, for his response, but he did not reply.
Source: Daum