DSP Media Releases Official Statement Regarding Former APRIL Member Hyunjoo And Bullying Allegation

Due to claims made by the alleged brother of APRIL‘s former member, Lee Hyunjoo, the other members have been embroiled in a bullying accusation. DSP Media released an official statement on March 1, 2021 to address the issue.

In the statement, DSP Media clarified that Lee Hyunjoo had wished to be an actress all along, but agreed to join APRIL for debut. Moreover, it was stated that Lee Hyunjoo later faced difficulties from the mental and physical strain of promoting and was unable to fully participate in group activities. Finally, according to the statement, the former member expressed her wish to withdraw from the group.

Former APRIL member and actress Lee Hyunjoo

The full statement can be read below.

Hello, this is DSP Media.

We would like to share our official statement regarding the recent issue around Lee Hyunjoo and the APRIL members.

First, we would like to explain Lee Hyunjoo’s departure from APRIL in detail. Lee Hyunjoo entered the company as a trainee for acting. While we were producing APRIL though, we convinced Lee Hyunjoo and her family to debut with the team — and she agreed, although she wished to be an actress.

After her debut was confirmed, however, Lee Hyunjoo was unable to diligently participate in the team activities due to physical and psychological problems. It is not only Lee Hyunjoo but also the other members who faced both visible and invisible difficulties from the divide that stemmed from this. Ergo, as everyone suffered and had gone through a hard time, we cannot come to a definite judgement as to who is the victim and who is the perpetrator — purely from the situation at that point in time.

Ultimately, Lee Hyunjoo expressed her desire to leave the team during the ‘Tinkerbell’ promotions. Although the company tried to dissuade her, we eventually granted her wishes and decided on her withdrawal from APRIL. In this process, Lee Hyunjoo and the APRIL members all dealt with hardships and the company feels responsible for this.

Afterwards, we have been fully supportive of the acting career that Lee Hyunjoo has pursued. In addition, as she wished to promote as an idol again, we have also been supportive of that. It is clearly true that the company has been supportive of her whenever and wherever possible, with all the various activities in the various fields even after she left the group.

Both Lee Hyunjoo and the members face damages due to unverified guesswork. We desperately appeal for everyone to refrain from creating and expounding on unverified facts and rumors. We apologize for the delay in delivering this statement. Thank you.

— DSP Media