K-pop bullying backlash hits Seolhyun of AOA and April’s Naeun as fallout from scandal grows

Magazine Vogue Korea had to remove a video interview with Seolhyun it posted on its YouTube channel after a backlash from angry K-pop fans

Naeun was also in the news after accusations of bullying former bandmate Hyunjoo as well as being a bully while at school

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A Vogue Korea video interview with Seolhyun of girl group AOA had to be removed from its YouTube channel after a backlash from angry K-pop fans. Photo: FNC Entertainment

Published: 11:45pm, 10 Mar 2021Updated: 11:56pm, 10 Mar 2021

K-pop stars Seolhyun of AOA and Naeun of April faced a backlash in South Korea this week as the bullying allegations rocking the industry continue to take a toll.

On Monday, Vogue Korea removed a video interview with Seolhyun it had posted on its YouTube channel two days earlier. This came after former AOA member Mina accused Seolhyun of turning a blind eye to bullying by former AOA group leader Jimin.

Vogue Korea came under fire for publishing the video and many K-pop fans rallied around Mina, who last year revealed that she had left AOA in 2019 because of the alleged bullying.

In the Vogue video, Seolhyun said: “This year has been tough on everyone. But I came to realise that I have so many people supporting me, which gave me this responsibility to stay afloat. It really meant a lot.”

Seolhyun had been accused of turning a blind eye to bullying by former AOA group leader Jimin. Photo: FNC Entertainment

The AOA bullying scandal returned to the spotlight recently after allegations of bullying were levelled against various K-pop stars, including Naeun, Soojin from (G) I-DLE, and Hyunjin from Stray Kids.