Red Velvet's Irene Apologizes Over Fashion Editor Bullying Controversy

Earlier this week, allkpop reported that editor and stylist Kang Kook Hwa posted a long Instagram caption, in which she alleged an unnamed K-pop idol had bullied her during a shoot by "hysterically throwing a fit" and "spewing insults at my face with her cellphone pointed at me."

"I should have prepared myself from the stories I've heard before I met her. But today, I became speechless as this person stung me with her words that are like electric needles," Hwa wrote after comparing the abuse of power she experienced on-set to the infamous 2014 "nut rage" incident, involving a former Korean Air vice president who allegedly made a plane turn around because she was upset about the nuts that were served to her by a flight attendant.

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"I had to stand still in front of that repulsive face that was hysterically throwing a fit at me," Hwa went on to write. "I had to stand there like a fool without anything I could do. This person did not give me time to understand the situation or even seek understanding from this person. This person didn't even give me a chance to explain because she can't hear anything."

And though she eventually deleted the post, fans began to speculate that the hashtags she'd used — "#Monster" and "#Psycho" — were references to Red Velvet songs.

Not only that, but as Koreaboo noted, Hwa's post subsequently caused other K-pop insiders to start talking about their own bad experiences with Irene — something that led Red Velvet's management company to release a statement relaying that Irene had "personally met with the stylist this afternoon."

"She feels sorry for causing concern with her immaturity. Our agency feels responsibility for this incident, and we do not forget the hard work of all the representatives and staff who work together with our company and our artists," SM Entertainment said. "We will work hard so that this does not happen again to the people we work with. We once again apologize for causing concern to many people."

And now, Irene herself has issued her own apology via Instagram, writing that she wanted to "sincerely apologize for hurting the stylist with my foolish attitude and careless words and actions."

"I received a lot of help from people who gave their effort for me to get to where I am now and I regret that I hurt them greatly with my immature behavior," Irene said, before adding, "This incident has made me look back on the past, and I'm very ashamed of my poor words and actions, and I feel the importance of staff members once again."

"I'll think and act more carefully, so this does not happen again," she concluded. "I'm truly sorry to the fans who support me and for causing worry because of this incident."

See Irene's apology post in Korean, below.

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아이린입니다. 저의 어리석은 태도와 경솔한 언행으로 스타일리스트 분께 마음의 상처를 드려 진심으로 죄송합니다. 제가 이 자리에 있기까지 함께 노력해주신 많은 분들의 도움이 있었는데 성숙하지 못한 행동으로 큰 상처를 드린 점 후회하고 반성하고 있습니다. 이번 일을 통해 지난 시간을 되돌아 보니 저의 부족한 언행이 많이 부끄러웠고 스태프분들의 소중함을 다시 한번 느끼게되었습니다. 앞으로는 이런 일이 없도록 더욱 신중히 생각하고 행동하겠습니다. 부족한 저를 응원해 주시는 팬 여러분과 이번 일로 인해 심려를 끼쳐드린 모든 분들께 진심으로 죄송합니다.

A post shared by IRENE (@renebaebae) on Oct 22, 2020 at 4:59am PDT

Photo via Getty