Throughout her career as an AOA member, Kwon Mina allegedly endured bullying and harassment from Shin Ji-min. After more than 10 years, she has had enough of the bullying and decided to leave AOA. At first, she managed to contain her emotions and hide her story. Early in July 2020, she couldn’t contain her anger and blasted Shin Ji-min by posting statements through her Instagram account. After a series of back and forth statements, Shin Ji-min decided to end her time with AOA and left the group, the label company, and the entertainment industry. We already know about Kwon Mina’s side of the story but we don’t know Jimin’s side of the story. Find out all the details of the bullying scandal, suicide attempt, and the latest news of Kwon Mina and Shin Ji-min in this Channel-Korea article. Stay tuned!
Kwon Mina Shared Her Story Of Being Bullied By Another AOA Member For 10 Years
AOA is a Korean idol group that debuted in 2012. AOA initially debuted as two groups, one group as a music band and the other one as a dance group. The dance group received more popularity and soon the music group disbanded. AOA received popularity for songs like “Mini Skirt,” “Short Hair,” “Heart Attack,” and many more. One of the AOA members, Kwon Mina, departed from the group in 2019 leaving AOA with Jimin, Yuna, Hyejeong, Seolhyun, and Chanmi. AOA’s leader, Jimin is well known for her rapping skills and her strong and strict Unnie character. Kwon Mina shocked the K-Pop industry and community by sharing several posts of her experience as a former member of AOA. In the posts, she revealed that she had gone through continuous bullying for 10 years of her career as an AOA member. The person who did it was none other than AOA’s patron and leader Shin Ji-min. On July 3rd, 2020, she posted the incident to her Instagram account. In the post, she also included s screenshot of a derogatory message that she had received. She wrote that she came from a poor family and she had to earn money to support her family from a young age. She revealed that her family condition and financial status caused her to cry while she was living with the other members in their dormitory. However, one of the unnies (older sisters) scolded her and accused her of ruining the mood of all the members with her weeping. Throughout her life as an AOA member, Kwon Mina considered committing suicide because of her condition. She also revealed details about her career as an actress. She acknowledged that she doesn’t have the talent to be an actress. She said that she is happy when acting and working hard on her acting skills. Initially, she enjoyed being an AOA member and promote with the other members. She revealed that she finally had enough and quit AOA because of one member. During her final years as an AOA member, Mina endured a very difficult period due to her father’s unstable health condition. After her father’s passing, she felt devastated and went on a hiatus. In the second post, Kwon Mina wrote about the turbulent final year as an AOA member. Her father was diagnosed with cancer and she knew that her father’s condition is getting worse. She was busy with acting and promoting but she didn’t want to ruin the mood of all the members with her father’s health condition. She said that despite her father’s continuous health decline, she continued being a professional and promoted with the other members. She rarely had the time and she wasn’t given any time to visit her ailing father. On his deathbed, her father asked about her continuously and she looked at him as he closed his eyes for the last time. Kwon Mina said that most of the AOA members gave her encouragement and supporting words, but not a single word came from one person. This person asked Mina to stop crying and be a professional. Mina confronted the person the last time they met. She said that her words hurt a lot and left bad memories. According to Mina, the person caused her to take numerous pills and cut her wrist. She had to undergo surgery to treat the scars.
AOA’s Jimin’s Reaction To Kwon Mina’s Story
Jimin reacted to Mina’s allegation and responded on her Instagram account. She posted a black screen with a single word “fiction” on her Instastory. The post was immediately deleted from her account.
Kwon Mina Strikes Back At AOA’s Jimin
Kwon Mina vented her anger at Jimin’s response on her Instagram post. Mina condemned her response. She said that there are witnesses and there are also shreds of evidence. She wished for Jimin to receive punishment from heaven because of her denial. She also revealed incidents that happened during her last days as an AOA member. Mina couldn’t attend practice sessions because of her health condition. She had just received hair transplantation and she still felt the anesthesia from the treatment. Mina called Jimin about her condition and informed her that she will be late for practice. On that day, Mina confessed that she thought about committing suicide. Mina revealed that there are so many stories about Jimin. Jimin spoke bad things about Mina but she denied telling people about the things. Mina also said that the person who said bad things usually can’t remember their words. Finally, she asked Jimin to look at her wrist. Mina said that perhaps Jimin didn’t feel any guilt when seeing Mina’s wrist cut. Jimin must be cursing Mina while seeing her wrist. Later, Mina posted another post that included the picture of her scarred wrist. She wrote “Fiction? I underwent several surgeries to treat this scar. I am getting crazy because Jimin’s memory can’t disappear. I don’t have money for a lawsuit. I am hurt because of you and I am very tired. All I want is for you to come to me and sincerely apologize in front of me. So please admit your fault and apologize to me so I can remove everything that is building in my heart.”
Kwon Mina Reveals Her Hardest Time Of Being Bullied
During the 10 years of activity and promotions as an AOA member, Kwon Mina enjoyed most of her career. However, she could never get along with the AOA leader; Jimin allegedly made numerous derogatory comments about Mina and her physics during the trainee days. Mina said that Jimin hit her many times when they were trainees. She also revealed that Jimin scolded her for failing to greet her properly on many occasions. Due to the stress caused by Jimin’s constant bullying and harassment, Mina allegedly attempted suicide several times. She confessed to slitting her wrist several times. The cut left several scars on her wrist. Mina confessed about the different treatment between her and Jimin when dealing with family members. When Jimin’s father was treated for cancer, Jimin was allowed to visit her father and was given time off. Her father was also provided the best room during cancer treatment. However, when Mina’s father started his battle with cancer, she couldn’t visit him because of the busy schedule. She wasn’t given time off from the management. Mina couldn’t even see her father on his deathbed due to fear of being scolded by Jimin.
Shin Jimin’s Letter And Apology To Kwon Mina
On July 4th, 2020, Shin Jimin apologized to Mina and shared her statement through her Instagram account. She said that she was very sorry and that she can’t express her regret in a short post. Jimin admitted that she failed as a leader and admitted her mistake. Jimin revealed that she didn’t understand Mina and she didn’t look out for her carefully. Jimin cried many times and apologized for her actions. She admitted that Mina’s emotions have built up over time and can’t be resolved in an instant. Jimin realized her lacking as the group’s leader and apologized for treating the members in such a manner. She also apologized to the fans and the public for causing controversies. Finally, Jimin sincerely apologized to Mina and the other AOA members. After Jimin posted the apology letter, Mina made another post on her Instagram account. She revealed that Jimin and other AOA members visited her home to discuss the situation. Mina stated that she will not talk about the case anymore. Mina responded to Jimin’s apology letter and posted her response. She said that her apology lacked sincerity. She could never forget the look that Jimin gave her when visiting her home. She understands that Jimin doesn’t want to apologize to her. In the end, she said that Jimin was lucky because everyone is on her side and that Jimin had won and Mina had lost. On August 9th, 2020, Mina’s label management posted an official statement regarding the case. Woori Actors stated that Mina’s health and mental stability are their top priorities. Mina took time off to rest. The agency will do their best for Mina to receive psychological treatment. Woori Actors revealed Mina’s concern about her career whether she can continue her dream as an actress. Lastly, the company thanked fans for their love and support to Mina. Also, the company apologized for causing concern to the community.
