Lee Hyun-joo’s side announced that the police confirmed the bullying incident and asked April not to make vague claims
After a period of investigation, the police announced it was true that April members had bullied former member Hyun-joo.
Lee Hyun-joo‘s side refuted the position of April‘s agency DSP Media, “The dismissal to Lee Hyun-joo’s younger brother does not acknowledge bullying.” On the 24th, Yeobaek (lawyer Lee Seon-ho), the legal representative of Lee Hyun-joo, declared an appeal “The police have made an explicit judgment as to whether the article written by Lee Hyun-joo’s brother is false.”
According to the dismissal of the appeal, “In the case of April’s bullying, it is true that Lee Hyun-joo suffered from bullying within the group, and the tumbler and shoes incidents occurred during April’s activities. The defendant has claimed that fact. The problem in the post which the suspect wrote also does not stray far from the main ideas that the defendant and Lee Hyun-joo did take part in April’s activities, so it cannot be viewed as false.”
Lee Hyun-joo’s side said, “We are taking control of the public’s misunderstandings caused by DSP Media’s unclear information and requesting necessary actions within the procedures stipulated by the law.”
Lee Hyun-joo’s younger brother, Mr. A, claimed bullying damage last February under the title ‘I am a former April member’s younger brother’ and in March under the title ‘I am Lee Hyun-joo sister’s younger brother’, saying that his sister Lee Hyun-joo was severely harassed and bullied while promoting as an April member. He was sued by DSP Media on charges of defamation, etc. The police recently decided not to appeal (no charges) against Mr. A.
On the other hand, April members counter that there was no bullying within the team, saying, “Rather, we are Lee Hyun-joo’s victims.”
The following is the dismissal decision published by the law firm Yeobaek.
2.) Judgement
“The parts that the suspect wrote that are causing problems 1.) the contents that Lee Hyunjoo received bullying from the group 2.) the contents that the team members that just laughed and passed by instead of greeting her mother who came to the company 3.) the contents that there was rotten kimbap on Lee Hyunjoo’s seat in the car and that the rest of the members and the manager got angry that it smelled and cursed 4.) the contents that the plaintiff put cheonggukkjang in a tumbler that was bought by Lee Hyunjoo’s grandmother 5.) the contents that a member wore Lee Hyunjoo’s shoes and threw them as they told her to take them 6.) the contents that the plaintiff did not greet Lee Hyunjoo’s mother and just laughed and passed by.
Considering these contents, the suspect saw articles (referral to records 329-332) reporting that APRIL suffered damage after Lee Hyunjoo’s departure from her group and additional clarification regarding bullying rumors and wanted to correct the truth that she left the group on her own terms. Additionally, considering that Lee Hyunjoo’s bullying was publicly known before the writing of the suspect’s post, as well as no new abusive acts or content worthy of harm from the suspect, with the existing abusive acts specified in detail and the abusive acts not highlighted, and the fact that APRIL is a well-known celebrity that is related to public interest, it is difficult to see that the suspect had a purpose of slander.
2.) Judgement
The accused (Hyunjoo’s brother) is also in actual fact, the younger brother of former APRIL member, Lee Hyunjoo and it is true that he had heard about the incidents from Lee Hyunjoo herself.
Additionally, with regards to the bullying allegations, looking at (censored information), Lee Hyunjoo had indeed been having a tough time due to being bullied by the group and the tumbler incident and the shoes incident that happened during APIL’s promotions were also overall true, and the accuser (the person that filed the lawsuit) had also admitted to that the incidents had existed (referral to records 67-68) hence the parts written by the accused under the clause ‘2) Judgement’ 1~6, were things that occurred between Lee Hyunjoo and the accuser during their time as a group, and as it does not stray too far from the truth and cannot be judged as a falsehood.
As with the above, the accused is also in fact Lee Hyunjoo’s younger brother who had directly heard about the incidents. Furthermore, as the contents in the post have been reported in various articles, it is hard to claim that the accused had consciously created falsehoods while writing the post.
Hence, it is not acknowledged that the accused, (name) had committed slander and the lawsuit will not be accepted.”
Source: Nate, KB
