The severe emotional stress that former K-pop group AOA member Mina (real name: Kwon Min-ah) has been going through due to alleged bullying she experienced while in the group and issues with FNC Entertainment, her former agency, has landed her in the hospital anew.
Since last month, Mina has been using Instagram to expose what she experienced while she was in AOA, supposedly being bullied by former leader Shin Jimin for more than a decade.
In her post on Aug. 8, Mina shocked followers when she uploaded a photo of her bloodied wrist and writing that she wanted to do self-harm.
"I will not leave with such injustice. Shin Jimin, Han Sungho, Kim Seolhyun, try to live well,” she wrote, according to Osen, referring to AOA’s Jimin and Seolhyun, and FNC Entertainment representative director Han Sungho.
She added, “My mother, sister, and family members probably can't utter a word but lamenting that they have done nothing wrong. Make up for the mental damage you caused me. Compensate for it fully. Don't you know anything but money?"
Mina also wrote, "I want to go to a place where I can be happy ― I am feeling so much pain here. Do not even come to my funeral even if I die. I will harass you after my death,” the Korea Times reported.
This is not the first time Mina attempted suicide because of the emotional stress she has been suffering.
She exposed last month that Jimin bullied her for a decade during their trainee days and while she was in AOA, resulting in the latter to leave AOA and stop all her activities. Mina debuted in AOA in 2012 and left the group in May 2019 when her exclusive contract expired. She is now an actress.
A day after Mina’s Instagram post, her current agency, Woori Actors, revealed that the actress is in the hospital, explaining, "Currently, Kwon Mina's health is stabilizing. We are waiting for professional advice from the doctors. Kwon Mina's mother has come and is now watching her with us in the hospital. Expectedly, we will decide the treatment approach for her after conferring with the doctors."
FNC Entertainment issued a statement to apologize to Mina but refuted her claims on issues with money.
“We also sincerely apologize to Kwon Mina, who is having the most difficult time ever, and hope she will recover soon. In addition, our company also feels sorry that we have not closely followed and watched over the relationship between the members,” it said, Osen reported.
It added, “Meanwhile, the members of AOA also feel frustrated that they are misunderstood and criticized by the public every day. However, although we pondered a lot on taking the stance, we believe that Kwon Mina's recovery should be the top priority right now.”
FNC Entertainment said that “the members of AOA have limited their posts on SNS. We concluded that making statements from each perspective that lead to conflicts over those contending views is not the right way of resolving the situation.”
Regarding Mina’s belief that Jimin will resume her activities, the agency said, “However, we did not give her an answer because Shin Jimin herself discussed with our company and expressed that she didn't intend to pursue artistic activities anymore but would live as an ordinary person. Therefore, we hoped that there wouldn't be any further unnecessary mentions and talks.”
“On the payment matter that was mentioned in Kwon Mina's SNS post, we have still been fully complying with the standards of the entertainment industry, and should any problems arise, we will take full legal responsibility. Once again, we sincerely hope that Kwon Mina will recover as soon as possible."