Despite the negative influence that Kim Ga-ram’s bullying scandal is having on LE SSERAFIM and even HYBE, the company still keep Kim Ga-ram and is trying to defend her.
Kim Ga-ram is currently the biggest worry to HYBE and LE SSERAFIM. If Kim Ga-ram leaves the group, LE SSERAFIM will be reformed as a 5-member group and controversies are likely to end right away. Nevertheless, HYBE decided to hold onto Kim Ga-ram and spend more time dealing with the scandal.
Unfortunately, HYBE’s stock price is currently lower than that of last year. In 2022, it exceeded 400,000 won per share but recently remained at the low range of 200,000 won. Many of HYBE Labels’ major groups, such as Seventeen and BTS, are scheduled to make their comebacks and as the Covid-19 has eased, they are also holding world tours. Therefore, HYBE’s stock price was expected to recover to the 400,000 won level, but it still stays at 200,000 won.
People in the industry believe that the controversies surrounding LE SSERAFIM have caused a negative impact on the company’s performance. With the recent global expansion of the Korean Wave and the increase in K-pop idols’ social influence, the moral standards for idols have also been raised.
Nevertheless, there are two possible reasons to explain why HYBE is trying to keep Kim Ga-ram in the group.
Kim Ga-ram holds an important position in the group. Although the latest Inkigayo stage of “Fearless” performed by five members except Kim Ga-ram is receiving favorable responses, LE SSERAFIM is still a 6-member group according to HYBE’s strategy. In addition to LE SSERAFIM’s debut album, many plans for future activities must have been set up with the group formation of six members. Therefore, if one member is missing from such a big plan, errors may appear in the big picture. In addition, HYBE’s efforts in making Kim Ga-ram debut should be taken into consideration.
Another reason would likely be the possibility of rumors about Kim Ga-ram being exaggerated. HYBE acknowledged and apologized for some of Kim Ga-ram’s inappropriate words and actions but denied most rumors and called them malicious attacks.
In fact, many school bullying allegations against idols have emerged on the Internet so far. Take the article posted on the blog of lawyer Ko Seung-woo, who was in charge of the case related to Wanna One’s former member Park Ji-hoon created by a malicious commenter, as an example. At that time, the malicious commenter revealed specific evidence to prove that they were abused by Park Ji-hoon during middle school. However, according to the police investigation, the writer was actually not from the same middle school as Park Ji-hoon and had never met the male idol before.
Of course, Kim Ga-ram would be severely punished if she was identified as the perpetrator. Considering the pain that the victim suffered, this crime should not be easily forgiven. However, since nothing has been confirmed, there is still a possibility of malicious rumors being created by people targeting celebrities.
If Kim Ga-ram’s rumors are exaggerated, the claim that she should be punished for the rest of her life for mistakes she made as a child can be somewhat harsh for both her and HYBE. Aside from Kim Ga-ram’s case, if malicious attacks on someone work for a specific idol, the agency may be swayed by the public when it comes to debuting and operating idols.
For this reason, it is widely believed that Kim Ga-ram’s right and wrong should be carefully considered at this opportunity.
An official from the idol industry said, “We should first determine whether Kim Ga-ram’s past mistakes can seek the public’s understanding. It’s a pity that we have to distinguish them legally, but we have to make sure for victims. The same goes for Kim Ga-ram herself. If she does something wrong, she has to take responsibility for it. After that, we’ll have to decide whether she can be active.”
Personality management has emerged as a hot topic for several years in idol agencies. In the early days, idols had the image of “playing at school”, so unless they caused much damage to others, accidents were tolerated to some extent.
But times have changed dramatically. Recently, the public not only emphasizes exemplary school life from trainee days, but also conducts reputation surveys on idols from the moment they were selected as trainees.
Students who have dreamed of becoming idols since childhood start managing themselves early. However, if you hide mistakes you made when you were young, inevitable situations from your agency’s point of view may arise. This is why agencies have taken the lead in idol management again since Kim Ga-ram’s recent incident.
An official from an idol agency said, “As K-pop centered on idols has become popular worldwide and affects teenagers in various countries, not only singing, dancing and appearance, but also personality has become an important evaluation factor. Although idols go into strict management from a young age, they have to take care of themselves first. We are having a conversation with trainees about their past in order not to create any controversy.”
Source: nate
