April Chaewon's mother spoke up about the bullying allegations made by former member Hyunjoo.
Chaewon has already denied the accusations on multiple occasions, including in an interview with reporters, and fans later pointed out alleged inconsistencies in her statements. On July 13, her mother wrote a post on Instagram to defend her daughter as well. Chaewon's mother stated the following:
"Hello, I am the mother of April member Kim Chaewon. I've raised my daughter in a loving way, but I'm not the kind of mother who covers up her child's wrongdoings. Firstly, I would like to express my gratitude and apologies to the fans of Chaewon, who are worried about my daughter due to this controversy and are with us during this difficult time. I thought about it a lot before writing in a public place like this. I don't know whether or not this is the right thing to do for my daughter or if it will harm her more. However, as a mother, I couldn't just 'be patient until the truth comes out' in front of my daughter who is in pain and thinking about death. That's why I am writing this - to tell you stories about Chaewon from her trainee days as well as the facts that I have seen and experienced. I do not know the positions of the other members clearly, so I ask for your understanding about that. Before going into the main topic, the recent complaints filed by Hyunjoo's acquaintances were dismissed, making it seem as if the contents of their statements were true. The reason for the dismissal was because Hyunjoo's acquaintances revealed what they heard through Hyunjoo, so it seems that the person concerned did not have any false awareness, and the decision to dismiss it was made because the police saw no intent of slander. I hope there is no misunderstanding. My daughter and I are like friends. We rely on each other and share our stories comfortably, so I am also aware of the process and facts of what is happening, so I am raising my voice in this way.
Firstly, there was the controversy about Chaewon's false statement. Chaewon posted two statements where there was an error in dates, which was actually an official broadcast. This was my daughter's mistake for not carefully reviewing the statement and hastily disclosing the date. However, Chaewon did not make up something that did not exist. At that time, my daughter said, 'Fortunately we completed the live broadcast stage, but we were told that it was the first time a rookie that just debuted missed a rehearsal,' and this is something I remember her saying to me clearly. It was a very precious time for me too as I was looking forward to my daughter's debut. I remember clearly not being able to perform on 'Music Bank' for the rest of promotions, and Hyunjoo missing out on rehearsal. Chaewon is not a liar who tried to deceive with a false statement.
Secondly, I will speak regarding the cellphone issues.
I remember that all the members secretly used their own personal devices pre-debut behind the company's back, and they got confiscated around September. After that, as written in Chaewon's statement, the members could not use personal cellphones, and from some moment on, only Hyunjoo was allowed to use her personal cellphone freely. That is the truth that I know. As on Mnet's reality series 'A-IF-RIL', they only made phones to use during the show temporarily, and they were confiscated after. This is also written in my daughter's diaries. She has consistently written diaries (we lost this portion of it just before this and cannot locate it), and we will reveal a portion of her diaries.
Thirdly, there was the issue of Chaewon's therapy records. Chaewon was especially close with Hyunjoo even pre-debut, and they both shared many things with each other and relied on each other. This is why when Hyunjoo was unable to attend 'Music Bank' rehearsals, she tried to understand Hyunjoo and comfort her although she herself was taken aback. Though April fans will know this, even on camera, Hyunjoo relied on my daughter a lot, and that was true off camera too. Chaewon took care of Hyunjoo as her unnie, and they got along well. In the midst of that, Hyunjoo's escaping of reality got more serious due to being sick and other reasons. As her rebellion got more serious, Chaewon was also getting sick of it and spoke about how she felt. Even so, I always told Chaewon to take care of Hyunjoo as she was the older one, and Chaewon agreed. From that day on, she tried even harder to especially take care of Hyunjoo. However, she had it hard due to Hyunjoo's frequent escapes and harm to the team. This is all written in my daughter's therapy records."
Chaewon's mother shared the below image of her daughter's diary entry from 2017 that states: "Today I was shocked when I realized Hyunjoo had signed up for the same pilates lessons as I did so I have to run into her every Thursday. She didn't say hi first, so I just decided to smile and do so. We do not have a good relationship, but there is nothing good about being on bad terms so I hope to take this opportunity to be fine again."
She further shared a screenshot of a chat room with the April members' mothers, who all congratulated Hyunjoo's mother on her birthday.
This past April, Hyunjoo stated she was physically and verbally bullied by the girl group members for 3 years, which DSP Media denied. The admission came after Hyunjoo's brother and a former classmate claimed she had been the victim of bullying. Hyunjoo then filed a lawsuit against an alleged former employee at the label who claimed she was lying about being bullied, and some netizens speculated the former employee was actually April member Naeun. DSP Media then moved to file lawsuits against those supporting Hyunjoo on the basis of defamation, the spread of false information, and slander, which was rejected by the court. The label is now attempting to sue Hyunjoo herself.
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