Ryu Hyo-young: "My twin sister Ryu Hwa-young was bullied in T-ara"

Ryu Hyo-young "Younger sister Ryu Hwa-young was bullied in T-ara"
"Still sorry for the message I sent to Areum"
"I was afraid my sister would make a bad choice"

Actor Ryu Hyo-young, formerly of the co-ed group Namnyeo Gonghak and Five Dolls, claimed that her twin sister Ryu Hwa-young was indeed bullied in T-ara. Ryu Hwa-young Instagram

Ryu Hyo-young, an actress and former member of the groups Namnyeo Gonghak and Five Dolls, spoke about her twin sister Ryu Hwa-young, stating that "she was indeed bullied during her time in T-ara."

On the 11th, Ryu Hyo-young posted on her social media (SNS), "I am very sorry for causing concern to many people," and opened up by saying, "The reason I am posting this is to talk about my sister's bullying incident and my text message incident." She explained, "At that time, we were about 20 years old. Only my sister and I left our hometown and came to Seoul," adding, "We thought there were no adults we could rely on around us, so we were each other's only support."

She continued, "In that situation, I heard shocking words from my sister. She said she was being ostracized by the T-ara members and expressed that it was 'too hard' and that she 'missed her older sister.'" She also mentioned the incident where she had sent abusive text messages to T-ara member Areum in the past. She stated, "My text message incident was the result of trying to stop my sister from being bullied," and added, "I have apologized before for the messages I sent to Areum, but I still feel sorry."

However, Ryu Hyo-young appealed, "At just 20 years old, there was nothing I could do," and said, "I was afraid that if I just stood by and did nothing, my sister might make a bad choice." She concluded, "I believe everyone understands that my young and insufficient efforts were my best to protect my precious family."

Earlier, on the 8th, Kim Kwang-soo, former CEO of MBK Entertainment and producer of T-ara, reignited the bullying controversy by stating on a broadcast, "T-ara did nothing wrong." In response, on the 10th, Ryu Hwa-young posted on her SNS, "For 12 years, I have lived with the scarlet letter as the victim of the 'T-ara bullying incident,' but since I do not understand the intention behind CEO Kim Kwang-soo's distorted remarks about the incident 12 years ago, I felt the need to correct the false parts." She claimed, "It is true that I was bullied by the T-ara members at that time," and denied, "The claim that I was not bullied but pretended to be a victim, so-called 'victim cosplay,' is false." She also revealed, "At the time of contract termination, I had many materials that could prove the bullying, so I intended to express my position through a press conference," but added, "CEO Kim proposed, 'If you keep quiet, I will also terminate the contract of your older sister, who was in the same agency,' and at just 20 years old, I thought that was the best option and withdrew without receiving an apology."