Debates surrounding the details of LE SSERAFIM member Kim Garam’s School Violence Countermeasures Committee session and conclusion, in which Kim Garam was labeled as an “assailant” in a case involving conflict with fellow classmates, are continuing to raise numerous questions.

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Back on May 20, HYBE Labels/Source Music released an official statement detailing Kim Garam’s side of the story as to why she was previously involved in a School Violence Countermeasures Committee session during her first year of middle school.

In the statement, the agency confirmed that Kim Garam had a record of being involved in a School Violence Countermeasures Committee case, but argued that the issue arose due to the fact that Kim Garam was fending for a fellow classmate, who was photographed inappropriately without consent. The statement also emphasized that no physical violence was involved in the conflict.

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However, according to the publicized details of the School Violence Countermeasures Committee session record revealed by the legal representative of Kim Garam’s former classmate Yoo Eunseo, the committee session was concluded after Kim Garam received ‘degree 5’ punishment for her involvement as an “assailant” in the conflict.

This particular detail came across as a shock to many Korean netizens, as they argued that ‘degree 5’ punishment was realistically the most severe punishment typically given to school bullying case assailants by a School Violence Countermeasures Committee. When a student receives ‘degree 5’ punishment (There are a total of 9 degrees of punishments, with ‘degree 1’ being ‘face to face apology’ and ‘degree 9’ being ‘expulsion’), they are required to attend 6 hours of special education on school violence. Depending on the decision of the committee, the students’ parents are also required to attend education sessions.

Now, a representative of HYBE Labels has issued an additional comment regarding the issue of Kim Garam receiving ‘degree 5’ punishment for her school bullying case.

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The HYBE Labels rep told media outlets on May 21,

“The committee gave [Kim Garam] ‘degree 5’ punishment even though there was no physical violence involved. The School Violence Countermeasures Committee is not comprised of a legal court, but rather comprised of faculty members of a school, and therefore the committee’s decisions vary per school based on the school’s region, and also per presiding committee chairs. At the time, Kim Garam’s mother trusted the decision of the school’s committee that the punishment was the best for her daughter, and so she did not appeal the decision. However, Kim Garam’s mother is now greatly regretting the fact that she did not appeal the punishment. She believed at the time that her daughter would benefit from the education hours.”

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