Mina, former member of K-pop girl group AOA, thanked people for sending her messages of support and encouragement after she came out to claim that she suffered bullying for 10 years from then AOA leader Shin Jimin.
In an Instagram post on July 10, Mina said a lot of people including her acquaintances sent her messages through DM (direct message) and texts.
“I'm so sorry that I couldn't reply to you one by one, but I'm trying to read everything as much as possible. You don’t need to worry about me anymore,” Mina wrote.
She promised that she will get treatment and do her best to return with a healthy and bright appearance. Mina told everyone to be careful and “don't forget to wear a mask” and said, “Again, thank you very much and I’m really sorry. Everyone, fighting!”
Starting on July 3, Mina uploaded several posts on Instagram to reveal that for 10 years, from her days as a trainee until she became a member of AOA, she suffered from Jimin’salleged bullying. Mina debuted in AOA in 2012 and left the group in May 2019 when her contract expired. She relaunched her career as an actress.
The supposed bullying took a toll on Mina that she revealed that she tried to commit suicide in addition to episodes of self-harm.
Jimin and other AOA members together with their managers visited Mina at her home on July 4 to talk about the issues. On the same day, Jimin posted her apology on Instagram.
Mina belied Jimin’s claim that she begged her for forgiveness and instead, she alleged that Jimin brought a man to AOA’s dormitory and became intimate with him.
This apparently became the last straw and on July 5, FNC Entertainment, AOA’s agency, announced that “Jimin has decided to leave AOA and stop all entertainment activities. We apologize again for causing concerns.”