South Korean actress Kim Hieora, 35, met with the individuals she allegedly bullied and had a time of mutual understanding. It has been more than seven months since her allegations of school violence surfaced in September last year.
Gram Entertainment said in a statement on Apr. 16 that “Kim Hieora met with the involved parties to address the bullying issues that arose last year and to facilitate constructive dialogue,” adding, “The conversation concluded amicably.”
The agency also highlighted that Kim had devoted considerable time to introspection after this incident, contemplating how she could be a responsible individual in society. Furthermore, the agency conveyed the actress’ determination to earnestly shape her future with a sense of duty, striving to reciprocate the support and affection she received from the public.
Kim played Lee Sa-ra, a primary antagonist of the collective bullying in the Netflix original series “The Glory,” which premiered in 2022. In September of last year, allegations of bullying surfaced against the actress while she was enjoying popularity due to the success of her drama. An alumnus had accused Kim of being a member of the infamous Iljin group (a South Korean term meaning school gang that perpetrated school violence and bullying against students) when she was a middle school student and of committing bullying, including stealing money from her juniors.
Kim Hiara denied the allegations at the time, saying she had never been a group member or participated in bullying. However, in the aftermath of the incident, she was dropped from the tvN drama “Jeong Nyeon,” which was scheduled to air in the second half of 2024. In response to the allegations, Kim said, “I was merely a member of an online community called Big Sangji (a school bullying group at Sangji Girls’ Middle School),” and added, “I couldn’t agree to the accusations that were made based just on the fact that I was a member of the community.”
On Instagram, she wrote, “From the time I was 15 years old until now, 20 years later, I have made mistakes, admitted them, and tried not to repeat them. Again, I’m sorry to those who supported and believed in me, and I sincerely apologize to those who were hurt by me even now.”
