Le Sserafim's success despite scandal shows all press is good press

K-pop

Published: 07 Jun. 2022, 14:04 Updated: 07 Jun. 2022, 14:07

Le Sserafim's success despite scandal shows all press is good press

Kim Ga-ram of girl group Le Sserafim stepped away from group activities on May 20 due to a bullying scandal. [SOURCE MUSIC]

Le Sserafim concluded its activities for its debut song “Fearless” on Sunday. After debuting on May 2, the rookie girl group became one of the most successful K-pop launches of this year, and “Fearless” continues to climb the charts.

Yet an elephant remains in the room: Member Kim Ga-ram has been on hiatus from Le Sserafim’s activities since May 20 due to a sensational bullying scandal. What started out as a six-member girl group had to finish its promotional schedule as a team of five.

Le Sserafim’s management Source Music and HYBE firmly maintains Kim’s innocence and has no plans to oust her from the group. However, mounting evidence has the led the majority of Korean and international fans to turn their backs on Kim and demand she step down. Le Sserafim is stuck in limbo — but is it all bad?

An unprecedented scandal

Le Sserafim performs its debut song "Fearless." [SOURCE MUSIC]

A bullying scandal is nothing new in the Korean entertainment industry, especially after a series of allegations against big names swept the nation in early 2021. Kim’s scandal, however, is considered to have some of the most concrete evidence seen to date. Her case escalated dramatically on May 15 when an alleged image of an official school document started circulating online — showing that a committee was called to deal with a case of school violence perpetrated by “Grade 1 Class 3 Kim Ga-ram” and that the listed perpetrator faced disciplinary measures as a result.

A few days later, the alleged victim issued an official statement through a law firm, claiming that the document was indeed true. HYBE eventually admitted that the document was real but maintains that Kim was largely wrongly accused.

Kim's scandal escalated dramatically on May 15 when an alleged image of an official school document started circulating online — showing that a committee was called to deal with a case of school violence perpetrated by “Grade 1 Class 3 Kim Ga-ram” and that the listed perpetrator faced disciplinary measures as a result. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

The document also states Kim's punishment — level 5 disciplinary action — which only added more fuel to fire. School violence committees take disciplinary action ranging from level 1 to level 9, the measure being more serious the higher the number is. Kim's exact actions have not been revealed but netizens speculate that it must have been serious to warrant level 5 punishment.

While bullying accusations against stars usually rely on the alleged victims’ recollection, leaving room for fans to dismiss them as fabricated, the evidence involved in Kim’s case has an unprecedented level of authority. Kim’s public image had already been tarnished when photos of her posing with sexually explicit doodles and hand gestures were exposed in April before Le Sserafim’s debut. Now with official documents as evidence, it seems unlikely Kim will be able to redeem her reputation.

The show goes on

Amid hostile public sentiment toward Kim, Le Sserafim’s image took an interesting turn. The group’s overall popularity seems unaffected; if anything, “Fearless” is consistently going up on streaming charts and continued to win numerous No. 1s on music shows without Kim.

Five members of Le Sserafim has been performing "Fearless" on music shows without Kim ever since her scandal escalated. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Kim’s scandal had not yet escalated when Le Sserafim sold over 30 million copies of its debut EP and set a new record for a debuting K-pop girl group.

But even after evidence surfaced and Kim announced her break, “Fearless” continued to rank high on domestic music charts.

A scandal of this magnitude upon debuting would have been a serious obstacle for most idol groups’ careers. Even (G)I-DLE, which debuted in 2018 and had established itself as a top K-pop act, had to endure a period of uncertainty after member Soojin left in 2021 due to a bullying scandal. After (G)I-DLE’s successful comeback in March, leader Soyeon confessed that she once “thought it was over for the team,” alluding to the scandal with Soojin.

Fans have been showing unwavering support by uploading videos of the group’s stage performances with Kim edited out, dubbing them “5Sserafim” or “OT5 (one true five).” [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Perhaps it is because Kim is currently excluded from group activities that many fans feel more comfortable continuing to support Le Sserafim, treating it as a five-member act. Fans have been showing unwavering support by uploading videos of the group’s stage performances with Kim edited out, dubbing them “5Sserafim” or “OT5 (one true five).”

Paradox of notoriety

Although HYBE’s firmly maintains that Kim is innocent, her name has become notorious among not only K-pop fans but also the general public due to heavy media coverage. But Le Sserafim’s continued success suggests that notoriety may not always be disadvantageous.

Le Sserafim [SOURCE MUSIC]

“These kinds of allegations often severely damage a celebrity’s image, but there’s another side to it,” said pop culture critic Jeong Deok-hyun. “Most people probably had never heard about Le Sserafim or knew very little about the new girl group prior to the scandal’s escalation. Now they have. This controversy definitely played a role in how much attention Le Sserafim has been receiving. The group is mentioned all over the news, and people’s interest, even the negative kind, leads to more streaming.”

Jeong added that on top of the noise marketing, ongoing uncertainty plays a large role.

“HYBE’s firmness in denying the allegations, even after the documents surfaced, is unprecedented,” he said. “It is maintaining that Kim was misunderstood and wrongly accused. As long as the agency maintains that stance, the dispute goes on and the truth remains in the realm of uncertainty. That uncertainly is what’s maintaining Le Sserafim’s status quo right now. Things may change if the allegations turn out true for sure, but as long as details stay murky, the scandal is highly likely to keep serving as noise marketing.”

BY HALEY YANG [yang.hyunjoo@joongang.co.kr]