Naeun opens up about school bullying controversy during Italy trip with KwakTube

AKP STAFF

April member and actress Lee Naeun opened up about her feelings following her school bullying controversy in a video with travel YouTuber KwakTube, sparking renewed attention on her past bullying and internal group conflicts.

On September 16 KST, KwakTube posted a video on his YouTube channel titled “My First Romantic Week in Italy – Italy.” In the video, KwakTube and Lee Naeun were seen happily traveling around Italy. During dinner, KwakTube brought up a sensitive topic by saying, “I feel a bit sorry.”

He continued, “When people around me talk about school bullying, I become sensitive because I was a victim myself. So when I heard rumors about you being involved in bullying, I blocked you after seeing the articles. But I later saw that it wasn’t true, so I unblocked you, but you already knew about it. I’ve never talked to you about this directly, but I felt guilty because, as a victim, I may have hurt someone who was falsely accused.”

Lee Naeun responded, “We’ve met a few times since then, and I jokingly mentioned that you blocked me. But honestly, I thought it was something that wouldn’t upset me after some time had passed.” She added, “It was upsetting that so many people misunderstood me and blocked me, but I wasn’t angry anymore.”

KwakTube admitted, “I found out about the clarification articles much later, but most people only saw the negative headlines. I’m seven years older than you, so I feel even worse about it.”

Lee Naeun made her debut with April in 2015 and gained recognition through the web drama ‘A-Teen’ in 2018. However, in 2020, she became embroiled in both bullying and internal group conflict allegations involving former April member Lee Hyunjoo.

Lee Hyunjoo claimed that from 2014, during preparations for debut, until her departure from the group in 2016, she suffered from continuous bullying by the members. She stated, “For three years, I endured constant physical and verbal abuse, harassment, insults, and personal attacks. The most painful part was the insults directed at my family members. The company knew about this but did nothing.”

At that time, Lee Naeun, Lee Jinsol, Kim Chaewon, and Yang Yena denied the accusations, claiming that Lee Hyunjoo was not a victim of bullying. However, inconsistencies in their statements, particularly Kim Chaewon’s explanation, led to public distrust, and they faced accusations of false clarification.

Despite being accused of spreading false information, the prosecutors dropped the charges against Lee Hyunjoo’s brother and a former classmate due to insufficient evidence. They stated, “While there were interpersonal issues within the group, it is difficult to definitively determine this as bullying.”

Lee Naeun was also accused of school bullying but was cleared when it was found that the individual accusing her of bullying was guilty of defamation.

Amid these controversies, April disbanded, and the members halted their activities. In 2022, Lee Naeun signed an exclusive contract with Namoo Actors and resumed her career with the SBS drama ‘Reborn Rich Detective.’

Earlier this year, she was also in the spotlight due to dating rumors with soccer player Lee Kang In. Lee Naeun’s next project is the drama ‘I Shopping,’ an action-thriller about survival and revenge featuring stars like Yeom Jung Ah, Won Jin Ah, and Dex.