Before that, let’s understand completely the timeline of the case.
Note: A —> The victim, B —> The informant, Taeyong
On May 2nd, 2009, Taeyong left a comment on another class’ community site. Taeyong was in his 2nd year of middle school.
‘Hul. There are 10 people in the picture, but it looks like there are 13’
And then 10 years passed. Later on September 17th, 2019, B posted on an online community. The summary of B’s post:
- B is the administrator of that class’ community site
- Taeyong made fun of a friend’s appearance, who at the time was chubby.
- B felt sorry for talking about something that happened in the past
- B insisted that what Taeyong did was wrong
And then, SM Ent. released a statement regarding this post.
“Taeyong deeply regrets the hurtful comment he has left as a middle school student. He also apologises to everyone whom he has hurt, during his training days and after his debut. He is still reflecting on his behaviour…”
Taeyong personally met the victim, A. It was the next day after he came back from The States for a promotion with Super M. A also posted on their personal SNS account (that Taeyong apologised)
‘I’m the victim who has personally met and received apology from Lee Taeyong in person. I’m writing this post to clarify any misunderstanding that have been spreading regarding this case. Through this too, I’d like to announce that we don’t want the private conversation between me, the staffs, and Taeyong to spread publicly. We kindly ask for your understanding’
A is receiving treatment at a hospital due to A’s psychological condition. Taeyong’s rep has already gave a compensation for the damages. Both parties have also written a confidential agreement regarding the damages compensation.
Taeyong’s controversy ended here.
Until, June 2020…
The informant, B, appeared again and asked for Taeyong’s fans to remain calm, since B is also having a hard time. But then, B shot another arrow by posting the Kakao Talk messages.
B claimed that ‘Taeyong’s apology wasn’t sincere’, as B revealed the text messages between A and Taeyong on October 28, 2019. The message said:
‘When I (The victim) enter the room while crying, you were sitting with your legs crossed and stared out of the window… All I wanted was a sincere apology from you, I’m sending you this long message because I wanted to get along with you’
However Dispatch has obtained the original text. The Kakao Talk screen capture that the informant posted above was edited. In the original text, the victim, A, was worrying about Taeyong’s health.
October 28, 2019
A: Is your waist okay now? It seems like you’re always saying that you’re okay
A: Don’t be too ambitious to reach your goals, it’s going to hurt your waist. Take some rest from time to time.
A: Honestly, when people around me said that you lied about apologising to me. I denied and said you weren’t lying at all.
A: I believe that your apology was sincere. You bowed so deep that I could see the crown of your head.
B had removed some parts of the text messages and posted it online, claiming that it was ‘proof’ that the victim felt Taeyong’s apology wasn’t sincere.
What happened when Taeyong and the victim first met on October 11, 2019?
A: Hi, I’m A… My eyes look uneven from phone camera. Thank you for pretending like you didn’t notice it.
TY: Once again, I’m sorry. I can not contact you often and it may take me a long time to reply your texts for the time being, but I would be really grateful if you understand and keep supporting me.
The conversation between Taeyong and the victim continued to the next day
A: Pain in the waist are extremely painful, don’t hold it in until it gets even more severe. You understand?ㅠㅠ
TY: Yes, thank you. I will take care of my body. Thank you for giving me strength.
A: After what happened yesterday, I don’t want us to feel uncomfortable to each other. I want us to be friends, exchanging texts from time to time, etc. But if you feel uncomfortable with that, you don’t have to do it. I want to respect your thoughts and opinions.
TY: Thank you for asking that to me, I have never felt uncomfortable. But I may be a little bit hard to reach because of work, I can’t always respond to your text quickly. But I know you’ll understand that!! Let’s meet in my concert next time.
Taeyong KEPT this promise. He contacted A first on May 15, 2020.
TY: Hi! This is Taeyong, how are you doing?
A: Hey, I’m currently watching a baseball game!
TY: I see^^ Remember when I promised to invite you to my concert? But due to COVID-19 outbreak, our concert will be held online. You can watch it this Sunday at 3PM on V Live. I will send you the code tomorrow or maybe the day after it. Does it overlap with the baseball game? Just feel free to watch the concert if you have free time.
Then Taeyong sent the code to NCT’s Online Concert on May 17, 2020.
TY: I was about to invite you to my concert, it’s such a pity. Just open the V Live App, go to Store, and type the code link I sent you.
A: Okay. It’s so fascinating how concerts these days are held online and not face-to-face… Good luck!
TY: Thank you. Take care of your health~
B also pointed things that differ from what actually happened.
B revealed that Taeyong promised to donate to the victim of school violence, and in another interview B said that they didn’t know if Taeyong kept his promises or not.
User: What’s with the donation and volunteer work? Was it mentioned in the conversation between Taeyong and the victim?? The victim asked him to donate and volunteer for the victim of school violence?
B: That’s what the friend of the victim wanted from Taeyong!
Dispatch did their research and found out that since April 2016, Taeyong has been constantly donating 1M KRW every month. He has donated more than 50M KRW so far. He also did volunteer work for the victim of school-violence.
<History of TY’s volunteer work>
2016
- Feb: Gangnam Senior Welfare Center
- March: Bon-dong Welfare Center
- April-June, August, December: Community service in Multicultural School, All Love School
2017
- March: Contributed in volunteer work that has something to do with baking
- April: Community service in Multicultural School, All Love School
- June: Community service in Multicultural School, All Love School
- July: Community service in Multicultural School, All Love School
- September-October: Community service in Multicultural School, All Love School
2018
- March: Community service with authors with disabilities
- June-July: Community service in Multicultural School, All Love School
- September:
- September: Suseo Myeonghwa Social Welfare Center, where he helped distributing food and washes the dishes
- November: Suseo Myeonghwa Social Welfare Center, where he helped distributing food and washes the dishes
2019:
- March: Seocho-gu Nursing Center for the elderly, where he personally helped the elderly eating their food
<Scholarship that TY gave out>
From September 2016 ~ until now: Donating more than 1M KRW every month to Multicultural School, All Love School.
The principal of Multicultural School, All Love School revealed, “Everyone in that school wants to receive the scholarship from Taeyong. And that Taeyong once carefully said that he didn’t want (his donation) to be revealed. When I was Taeyong’s age, I did not have any thoughts to donate like what he does”
In conclusion, it is true that Taeyong made fun of a friend’s appearance when he was younger. And that the victim was deeply hurt by what he said. But there are some parts that differ from the truths as well, for example: Taeyong is homophobic, Taeyong caused a friend to do self-harm etc. These accusations were only made by B, the informant.
TY’s teacher said, ‘I still clearly remember what happened. Taeyong has nothing to do with the student who did self-harm.’
Another witness who was present on the scene also said, ‘I was there when it happened. Taeyong has never caused anything problematic. However, it is not true that the victim threw a chair towards Taeyong’s direction’
Dispatch managed to get in touch with the ‘Rolling Paper’ victim, who said, ‘I didn’t feel offended. It happened when we were young. Sometimes, we joke about something that crosses the lines with our close friends. On top of all, I’m not gay, so it doesn’t really matter to me. What B did was very sickening. I don’t even know B personally, B is a stranger to me. And yet B uploaded that picture of rolling paper on the internet without asking any permissions first. I hope B sees this news and contact me as soon as possible to apologise’
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