[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] Singer Jindallae, who appeared on TV Chosun's 'Miss Trot 2,' has admitted to allegations of school violence and apologized. She also expressed her intention to withdraw from the ongoing broadcast.
On the 31st, Jindallae's agency issued an official statement saying, "We sincerely apologize for causing concern due to the school violence controversy involving our artist Jindallae," adding, "We have confirmed some facts regarding the school violence allegations with her. Currently, Jindallae acknowledges her wrongdoing and is deeply reflecting on it."
The agency stated, "She will take full responsibility for her past mistakes and plans to withdraw from TV Chosun's 'Miss Trot 2,' where she is currently appearing," and added, "We sincerely apologize to those who were hurt and harmed by Jindallae's actions. We also apologize once again to everyone who trusted and supported Jindallae for causing worry and concern."
Earlier that morning, a post titled "A school violence perpetrator appears on Miss Trot 2" was uploaded on an online community.
The author of the post confessed, "One of the perpetrators who bullied me at school 20 years ago appears on Miss Trot 2 with a nonchalant face," and said, "I thought I had forgotten, but the moment I saw the face, memories flashed by and everything seemed to go back to that time."
They continued, "I was hit for not greeting properly, hit for greeting with too deep a bow of 90 degrees, hit for not arriving within a few minutes when told to come, and there were many days I was hit without any reason," adding, "Besides the physical abuse, they demanded expensive gifts claiming it was a special occasion, and called me to a ruined place at the time to hit and torture me."
They also said, "She appeared on KBS 'Morning Yard' saying she had worked part-time since middle school, but is taking money considered part-time work? She took money, clothes, bags, shoes?nothing was spared, and it’s so shameless that she appears on TV like that."
The author concluded, "My school life was like hell, and I hated waking up every day. I was scared to go to school," and added, "The events from 20 years ago still remain as trauma, but the perpetrator appears on TV as if nothing happened and is seen as someone living diligently, which is really upsetting."
As the post spread rapidly online, netizens speculated, "The author uploaded a graduation photo from Gohan Girls' Middle School in Jeongseon-gun, Gangwon Province, from 2003, and mentioned the perpetrator appeared on KBS 'Morning Yard.' Could this be Jindallae, who is from Jeongseon and has appeared on Morning Yard?"
Some netizens even visited Jindallae's SNS to demand a direct explanation. Jindallae's agency responded, "We are currently verifying the facts."
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