[Pannchoa] Knets release statement demanding the withdrawal of Mingyu from Seventeen

[My Everything]

T/N: we'll paraphrase

 

Standardized mass email subject: We are demanding the withdrawal of Mingyu from Seventeen

 

Mass email's address: [email protected]

 

Mass emailing time: 2021/2/6 22:00-23:00 (sending after this time is ok)

 

Mass email's content:

We request the withdrawal of Seventeen's Mingyu (referred to as Kim Mingyu) who used school violence against the weak, such as women and the disabled, as soon as possible.

 

On the 22nd, an online community wrote a post titled  'Male idol with iljin roots, Kim X-kyu, a member of SeXX'. Although the controversy grew due to the article, which contains specific evidence of school violence, Pledis Entertainment has only officially stated that they were obvious false claims. Since then, additional victims' testimonies and proofs have been posted one after another, but since the 22nd, Pledis has remained silent without any rebuttal or expressing its position. The Union does not agree with this response from Pledis, and we are forwarding our opinion.

 

1. We demand Kim Mingyu's personal apology and Pledis' official statement

 

2. We demand the withdrawal of Mingyu and the suspension of his promotions as a celebrity. 

 

School violence is a social crime that cannot be forgiven for any reason. In the current Republic of Korea, pop culture is having a tremendous influence on the daily life of individuals beyond social culture. In particular, the idol industry exerts direct and indirect influence on teenagers. As an entertainment agency leading popular culture, I hope that Pledis will not overlook the serious responsibility and we urge you to clearly recognize the seriousness of school violence and the importance of artist management, and to announce your position as soon as possible.

 

post response:

[+1,024][-286]

original post: here

 

1. [+444, -96]

Who cares about where this statement was from..?? Isn't withdrawing a members like him the right thing to do? What good would it be to continue with him for the remaining members? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

2. [+231, -162]

What Carats from Female Generation (T/N: Female Generation/FG is an internet cafe in Daum Cafe)?ㅋㅋㅋㅋ you should've uploaded this in FG, why upload this on Pann? I know that you guys were the ones who spread Seventeen's rumors and are getting sued. There are no Carats there. Me too I hate Mingyu but I can see that you guys are getting excited over someone possibly withdrawing. Why are you guys posting this without consulting anyone?

 

3. [+206, -157]

If it's true, this is the right thing to do but where are you guys from?...

 

4. [+148, -10]

Pann is the best place to gain exposure so that's why they posted it here. Do you really think that trolls would post something this sincere?

 

5. [+128, -30]

What's up with the comments here? I'm seriously dumbfounded ㅋㅋ Just reading the content, you can tell that it was written by Carats. Looks like because they didn't participate in this, they think that this is fake

 

6. [+119, -5]

Calling them "trolls", are you crazy? Do you think that they would take their time to write a sincere statement... get in your right mind and go send some emails

 

Source

[starsocks]

honestly given how popular mingyu is and how long he's been with them, I don't think pledis will yield

I wonder what they're going to do

[My Everything]

6 minutes ago, choiyujins said:

honestly given how popular mingyu is and how long he's been with them, I don't think pledis will yield

I wonder what they're going to do

Honestly they should just make him enlist in the army 

if starship had done that with wonho he would’ve probably stayed with MX

[angy]

Have these knets ever thought that maybe instead of bringing awareness to bullying by ruining careers of past bullies they should focus on improving the environments that allow it to happen in the first place or we'll keep seeing them trying to fix their broken computers with tape hmmm

[starsocks]

14 minutes ago, My Everything said:

Honestly they should just make him enlist in the army 

if starship had done that with wonho he would’ve probably stayed with MX

like, it's kinda weird to think that once one of the members enlists, we'll probably never see them as a full group again

Edited February 27, 2021 by choiyujins
used the word "honestly" too much

[STORM BLOOM]

28 minutes ago, Angy said:

Have these knets ever thought that maybe instead of bringing awareness to bullying by ruining careers of past bullies they should focus on improving the environments that allow it to happen in the first place or we'll keep seeing them trying to fix their broken computers with tape hmmm

You didn't lie however it goes both ways. Idols who were once bullies should also reflect themselves and  be at least genuine from the get go, not bc their Company told them so to save face. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 27, 2021 by STORM BLOOM

[echobunny]

not gonna happen the way pledis is silent

[Charlene]

23 minutes ago, STORM BLOOM said:

You didn't lie however it goes both ways. Idols who were once bullies should also reflect themselves and  be at least genuine from the get go, not bc their Company told them so to save face. 

 

 

 

 

 

Where are the characters in your sig from? I mean are they some game/anime/comic characters? They are so beautiful

[STORM BLOOM]

9 minutes ago, Charlene said:

Where are the characters in your sig from? I mean are they some game/anime/comic characters? They are so beautiful

 

their from a mobile game called Mobile Legends, the biggest MOBA on mobile platform right now

 

 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, choiyujins said:

honestly given how popular mingyu is and how long he's been with them, I don't think pledis will yield

I wonder what they're going to do

that and their contracts are ending next year i think? pledis could just put him on a hiatus for the rest of their contract, give them 1 or 2 comebacks as 12 and they'll be fine. im pretty sure the staff knows most of them wont stay in the company lol

[hynapia]

It's so weird how Pledis is still silent tho, considering that his accusations are the most severe by far and an actual crime (sexual harassment).

[Hizu]

50 minutes ago, Candy said:

Who said that they're not trying to do that too? it's not that easy to change something in their society. They can work on it and at the same time punish celebrities who were past bullies, because it shows the example to others that you can't just be a bully and then have an easy life later. That's why it's important to deal with these scandals of past bullies. Do you want them to do nothing to past bullies and then expect the youth to stop bullying? it doesn't help at all and show the wrong example that you can bully others and still become popular, rich, loved etc.

This is just a question, but do you think that past bullies, regardless of the person they are today, if they regret it or not, if they apologised or not, should not work in the public eye / be celebrities? 

[Hizu]

16 minutes ago, Candy said:

That's my personal opinion but yes they shouldn't work as celebrities, but most importantly, the job of idol is different than a regular celebrity. You can see the way idols are promoted as perfect beings, and fans treat them that way. Fans always speak of their idols like they're angels, they can't do wrong, they're the best etc. idols are worshipped, and while I find this wrong and exaggerated even for a normal (innocent) idol, it's even worse if the idol is actually a past bully. Even if they regret it, the public can never know if the idol truly changed or not. and just the fact that they contributed to ruin someone (or more than one person)'s school life and youth and that the victims might still be affected until now and forever, then yes they don't deserve to be idols, to be idolized, to get popularity, to get rich, to be everywhere, etc. it gives a bad example and pretty much encourages bullies to stay how they are because they'll end up doing whatever they want anyway. There has to be at least some consequences for people who did wrong in the past... They can still live a normal life away from the public eye.

If you think only people with a clean past should be able to become celebrities then ok, I don't necessarily agree but I respect your opinion. This though "to get rich, to be everywhere", anyone can get rich without being famous. A past bully could become CEO or create the next facebook and become much richer than any idol. 

[Hizu]

2 minutes ago, Candy said:

it's just one of the benefits of being idol. a CEO doesn't have million of fans idolizing him, constantly appears on TV/medias, or considered as an angel etc. I know that people can get rich without being celebrities, but being rich is one of the benefits of being a celebrity and it's something the victims will obviously see since it's a celebrity. if they get rich in other ways without being famous, then good for them, it won't be an issue for the victims since they won't have to see it. There's also the fact that idols get rich almost always thanks to their visuals or personnalities... and that's an issue if the personnality is/was in reality bad.

I don't know for celebrities in general, I probably won't be that strict, but for idols yes, I think to become an idol and receive the love and fame that idols receive from young people, you need to have a clean past and be a good role model.

Personally I think that having a clean past and being a good role model are two very different things, but I do see your point. 

[felidae]

5 hours ago, My Everything said:

Do you really think that trolls would post something this sincere?

It's not impossible though? Not saying they are, but, js.

[satoori]

4 hours ago, hynapia said:

It's so weird how Pledis is still silent tho, considering that his accusations are the most severe by far and an actual crime (sexual harassment).

I'm not surprised...only if Pledis is actually fact checking every piece of  information. Plus it takes time to write a really good statement that will answer every question and leave no loose ends. Companies have to talk to their legal teams too. In my opinion, it's better to have one detailed and well written statement that everyone can reference back to, rather than one (or more) that's perhaps rushed and incomplete.

 

Side note: Technically Pledis isn't silent. In the beginning, they did talk to media outlets and denied the accusations. 

Edited February 27, 2021 by satoori

[Elscian]

2 hours ago, Hizu said:

This is just a question, but do you think that past bullies, regardless of the person they are today, if they regret it or not, if they apologised or not, should not work in the public eye / be celebrities? 

Imo if they apologised before getting exposed (and not much later in their career) they would not be in such messy situations? At least not to this extent.  That would show they actually remembered and someone's trauma wasn't just water under the bridge for them.  

So I wouldn't say all past bullies but rather the ones who didn't care before exposure, and if their cases are more serious than just smoking, drinking,  staring coldly or saying mean words bc its 'cool' or they had beef. Cases like violence and sexual harassment/assault, yep. If Korea bullying scene is as bad as they say, setting examples might be the best thing to do atm. All those 43754286 teenagers who are dreaming to become idols be shaking in their boots and start treating people nicely. 

Edited February 27, 2021 by StanSatan

[Hizu]

45 minutes ago, StanSatan said:

Imo if they apologised before getting exposed (and not much later in their career) they would not be in such messy situations? At least not to this extent.  That would show they actually remembered and someone's trauma wasn't just water under the bridge for them.  

So I wouldn't say all past bullies but rather the ones who didn't care before exposure, and if their cases are more serious than just smoking, drinking,  staring coldly or saying mean words bc its 'cool' or they had beef. Cases like violence and sexual harassment/assault, yep. If Korea bullying scene is as bad as they say, setting examples might be the best thing to do atm. All those 43754286 teenagers who are dreaming to become idols be shaking in their boots and start treating people nicely. 

I agree that it depends on the severity of their actions. About apoligising before getting exposed, I'm not sure. I think reaching out to people you hurt a long time ago is something very few people would do, not because they don't regret their actions, but because no one wants to bring up past issues again. Let's say you said mean things to someone who was already struggling (cases that are not violence or assault), years pass and you become an adult, but when you think about middle school you have regrets because you were an asshole. Would you really look for that kid you called names all those years ago and who's now a 20 something adult who might or might not reply with "who tf are you, why tf are you contacting me, so what" and say sorry for being mean when you were both 12 to clear your conscience? Maybe you would, I don't know, but not many people would. 

"setting examples might be the best thing to do atm"
I agree, but that's why I'm conflicted. I don't know if it's fair to collectively hate someone who used to be a mean kid but is currently a socialised, more mature and good adult, and force them to give up their career. That's why I'm taking into consideration these idols' current reactions to their scandals more than their past actions. Of course, it also depends on what they did and how long ago, some are too bad to be in public again, but others I think could be forgiven.

[Elscian]

50 minutes ago, Hizu said:

I agree that it depends on the severity of their actions. About apoligising before getting exposed, I'm not sure. I think reaching out to people you hurt a long time ago is something very few people would do, not because they don't regret their actions, but because no one wants to bring up past issues again. Let's say you said mean things to someone who was already struggling (cases that are not violence or assault), years pass and you become an adult, but when you think about middle school you have regrets because you were an asshole. Would you really look for that kid you called names all those years ago and who's now a 20 something adult who might or might not reply with "who tf are you, why tf are you contacting me, so what" and say sorry for being mean when you were both 12 to clear your conscience? Maybe you would, I don't know, but not many people would. 

"setting examples might be the best thing to do atm"
I agree, but that's why I'm conflicted. I don't know if it's fair to collectively hate someone who used to be a mean kid but is currently a socialised, more mature and good adult, and force them to give up their career. That's why I'm taking into consideration these idols' current reactions to their scandals more than their past actions. Of course, it also depends on what they did and how long ago, some are too bad to be in public again, but others I think could be forgiven.

Theres 2 things about this. First, I talked about how if they didn't apologise before + if its a serious issue. So like for hyunjin case, if I have to be honest, I think he should reflect and change, instead of this ruining his whole career. He even apologised early on instead of disregarding the victim completely.  He was clearly a mean teenager with a lack of maturity.  But groping someone? Assaulting like the volleyball players did? If this is true then... this has more to do with than just lack of maturity, its criminal even when done young don't you think?  If someone says teenagers aren't supposed to have this much of basic sense of morality then they lying.

Secondly, if you change even after doing something serious,  how will your victims know? You know that when you become a celebrity,  your victims are going to watch and be reminded of past trauma.  They would just think that the bully from school is leading their best life and all the character change is just to get the fans. How will you really know they changed unless they talk about it and be honest? It just seems like many of these people are trying to run away from their past without owing up to it. So imo it would be fair towards the people who just want to dodge,  bc that isn't a sign of sincere change. 

[Hizu]

4 hours ago, StanSatan said:

Theres 2 things about this. First, I talked about how if they didn't apologise before + if its a serious issue. So like for hyunjin case, if I have to be honest, I think he should reflect and change, instead of this ruining his whole career. He even apologised early on instead of disregarding the victim completely.  He was clearly a mean teenager with a lack of maturity.  But groping someone? Assaulting like the volleyball players did? If this is true then... this has more to do with than just lack of maturity, its criminal even when done young don't you think?  If someone says teenagers aren't supposed to have this much of basic sense of morality then they lying.

Secondly, if you change even after doing something serious,  how will your victims know? You know that when you become a celebrity,  your victims are going to watch and be reminded of past trauma.  They would just think that the bully from school is leading their best life and all the character change is just to get the fans. How will you really know they changed unless they talk about it and be honest? It just seems like many of these people are trying to run away from their past without owing up to it. So imo it would be fair towards the people who just want to dodge,  bc that isn't a sign of sincere change. 

Yes, I feel like cases should be looked at individually. Like you said, in Hyunjin's case and in Taeyong's case (I know it's old, but I'm using it as an example) I don't think it should ruin their career, but in the case of the volleyball player, Soojin and Mingyu... I think it's something else. I'm looking at the way they're reacting to their scandals, when they're trying to blame the victim instead or dodge the controversy by ignoring it, that's when I'm immediately put off.
That's also why I'm about ready to cancel someone like Chanyeol (not bullying, but still a controversy) who's someone I've been a fan of for almost a decade, but I'm forgiving with someone like Hyunjin, whom I didn't know existed a mere month ago (I'm saying this because I've been accused of protecting my faves when that's not the case at all). 

"How will you really know they changed unless they talk about it and be honest?"
I thought about this, and I came to the conclusion that I would confront them privately and ask for an apology like that. If the celebrity ignores me showing that they've not changed at all, I'd expose them for everyone to see what trash they really are. I think that would be a good course of action.

Edited February 28, 2021 by Hizu
Typo

[Elscian]

35 minutes ago, Hizu said:

"How will you really know they changed unless they talk about it and be honest?"
I thought about this, and I came to the conclusion that I would confront them privately and ask for an apology like that. If the celebrity ignores me showing that they've not changed at all, I'd expose them for everyone to see what trash they really are. I think that would be a good course of action.

You seem to have a high sense of moral and that's good.  Your main motive would be to seek apology and not ruin the person.  However, many victims of trauma do not,  and often cannot, think like that. Understandably,  they just feel angry and like life is agaisnt them bc they have to go through therapy while good things happen to their bully. So best case would be to reach out to them,  if not privately then publicly.  But ofc celebrities will think of their rep when doing things publicly. While I've seen cases where they apologised in general publicly bc they have really changed and care,  very few people can be that moral. So next best is to address the situation properly and immediately when a victim shows up. Unfortunately, for many of the cases where there was truth,  there was always that initial "it's all false" statement.  Let's see where this one goes. 

Edited February 28, 2021 by StanSatan

[Hizu]

8 minutes ago, StanSatan said:

You seem to have a high sense of moral and that's good.  Your main motive would be to seek apology and not ruin the person.  However, many victims of trauma do not,  and often cannot, think like that. Understandably,  they just feel angry and like life is agaisnt them bc they have to go through therapy while good things happen to their bully. So best case would be to reach out to them,  if not privately then publicly.  But ofc celebrities will think of their rep when doing things publicly. While I've seen cases where they apologised in general publicly bc they have really changed and care,  very few people can be that moral. So next best is to address the situation properly and immediately when a victim shows up. Unfortunately, for many of the cases where there was truth,  there was always that initial "it's all false" statement.  Let's see where this one goes. 

I think the apology would be more genuine if the idol had been confronted privately, because of course if confronted publicly saving their own reputation would be up there in their priorities, even if they apologise as soon as the victim speaks up, no matter what they do.

I think it's a bit late already for all those who didn't make a statement yet, if their scandal turns out to be true. 

[Elscian]

2 hours ago, Hizu said:

I think the apology would be more genuine if the idol had been confronted privately, because of course if confronted publicly saving their own reputation would be up there in their priorities, even if they apologise as soon as the victim speaks up, no matter what they do.

I think it's a bit late already for all those who didn't make a statement yet, if their scandal turns out to be true. 

I mean yeah, private is best if they can find the contacts

[starsocks]

12 hours ago, hallucinate said:

that and their contracts are ending next year i think? pledis could just put him on a hiatus for the rest of their contract, give them 1 or 2 comebacks as 12 and they'll be fine. im pretty sure the staff knows most of them wont stay in the company lol

good point

[schue]

IMO the problem started with the way Pledis denied the bullying accusations from the get go. They are partly to be blame for denying and protecting Mingyu. They could've at least investigate more and interrogate him "Mingyu-sshi, pls tell us were you a bully? How many times? Pls tell us truthfully otherwise more accusations will come and you'll be in deep shit!" (something like that) But instead they just denied the accusations and threatened to sue. And maybe Mingyu himself didn't admit nor tell the company the truth. So he probably brought it upon himself as well. So imo if he had any guity conscience at all as a mature adult, he should've admitted and apologized to the victims already instead of denying and getting Pledis to protect him. Idols themselves should play their role and take it upon themselves bc most of them are adults already who should be mature and able to act responsibly by their own will.

I may not like SM as a company with a passion but at least they held Taeyong accountable for his bullying past and he admitted. They got him to meet privately with his victims. This is what most companies should've done. Because more you denied, the more accusations will come forward with evidence and things will get worse and escalate further. Victims will not stop as they are seeking justice to stop or lessen the trauma they've had to carry for years.

Honestly if you were a bully but you've changed and have become a better person as an adult and if you honestly have any conscience at all (knew what you did as kid/teen was wrong), you should man up and admit already, take responsibility and show how remorseful you are. This would've  been better for your image as a public figure than denying to avoid from it getting dragged further. 

Edited February 28, 2021 by schue