Abuse and fraud charges of Han Areum, ex-member of T-ara

In a months-long update, Nate reported that ex-T-ara member Han Areum has been formally charged with fraud by South Korean police in Gyeonggi Province. This is a follow-up to previous fraud claims made against her and her then-boyfriend, as well as other allegations. How did a K-pop star become a scammer?

Content warning: This gallery contains mentions of self-harm, assault, domestic violence, and abuse of young people.

(Images are from areum0ju / Instagram unless otherwise stated.)

In March 2024, Han Areum made damning claims on Instagram about her ex-husband's mistreatment of her and her two sons. The story burdened the K-pop industry with yet another shocking allegation. The details were graphic and inhumane. She is now in the middle of another controversy, which includes scamming, being charged with child abuse herself, and an attempt to end her life.

Han Areum is best known for being an ex-member of the K-pop girl group T-ara. She was the youngest member of the girl group when she joined in 2012, reports Nate.

Image: MBK Entertainment

Born on April 19, 1994, with the given name Lee A-reum, Han Areum was born in the city of Ulsan, South Korea.

Namu reports that Han Areum had goals to enter the music industry at a young age and enrolled in Hanlim Multi Art School, where many K-pop stars such as SHINee’s Lee Taemin are alumni.

Despite auditioning for heavyweight companies such as JYP Entertainment, Han Areum did not make the cut to join the agency. She persisted and eventually was accepted as a trainee with MBK Entertainment.

According to Namu, Han Areum was slated to debut in a girl group with Heo Young-ji, and Bang Hyun-ah. Plans changed when Han Areum debuted earlier than the other two in T-ara, whereas they went on to debut later in KARA and Wannabe, respectively.

In 2012, Han Areum joined T-ara as the girl group’s latest and youngest member. She was part of T-ara when they experienced their second wave of popularity with the song ‘Round & Round’.

Image: MBK Entertainment

While in T-ara in April 2013, Han Areum was placed in the T-ara subgroup, ‘T-ara N4’. While in T-ara N4, Han Areum released the song ‘Jeon Won Diary’ with the rest of the T-ara N4 members.

Image: MBK Entertainment

Although the new subgroup signified a transformation in T-ara’s musical direction, Han Areum decided to leave not just T-ara N4, but also T-ara as a whole. In July 2013 she pursued a solo career.

Image: MBK Entertainment

Despite the prior announcement of leaving T-ara to pursue a solo career, Han Areum’s solo career was not an active one until 2017, when she participated in the reality TV singing program ‘Kookmin Singer’. Hosted by TV Chosun, she competed against hundreds of singers.

Image: MBK Entertainment

The K-pop world would receive news about Han Areum again years later. Koreaboo reported in 2019 that she announced her upcoming marriage to her then-non-celebrity partner, Kim Young Geol.

When the couple were interviewed by MBC back in October 2019, Soompi reported that Han Areum and Kim Young Geol seemed very much in love.

Image: MBC

It was a huge shock to many that years later, in 2022, Han Areum admitted to the media on Koreaboo that the two were on the brink of divorce. They both appeared on the reality TV show ‘Between Marriage & Divorce’, which aired the squabbles the two were having.

Image: TVING

Given the publicized rifts in their relationship, it was expected that Han Areum would then file for divorce from Kim Young Geol in December 2023, reported Allkpop.

Another surprise in the same report by Allkpop was that Han Areum would be remarrying. She had gotten engaged to another non-celebrity, Seo Dong Hoon.

According to Koreaboo, Han Areum had a scandal with her current beau. It was reported that he had attempted to take his own life due to allegations from an anonymous netizen that he had “served time in prison for ... assault and fraud” and had assaulted the netizen herself.

The allegations were denied by Han Areum, who is seeking to sue the anonymous whistleblower and alleged victim of Seo Dong Hoon, Koreaboo reports.

Despite trying to move on in life with her current partner, Han Areum is tied yet again to another scandal regarding her ex-husband. She posted a scathing reveal on Instagram detailing the abuse her two sons faced while living with Kim Young Geol.

'8days' states that Han Areum only discovered the abuse during a divorce negotiation interview. Her sons revealed that they had been abused by their father. He had tormented them by smearing excrement and beating them, among other shocking accusations.

In addition to these accusations, Koreaboo reports that Han Areum revealed details about her life with her ex-husband, including the fact that he was deeply in debt, did not financially provide for the family and that he physically abused her during their marriage. She kept it all hidden from her sons.

Koreaboo reports that Han Areum only agreed to let her children live with their father because he promised it would speed up the divorce process. She trusted him not to harm the children, as she thought she had been the only target of abuse at the time.

According to 8days, Han Areum's children have moved in with her following the damning revelations. Since the accusations are in criminal territory, the police are expected to intervene in the case rather than just the domestic courts.

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In March 26, OSEN reports that Han Areum had made an attempt on her life. During the time which she was unconscious, a YouTuber had come forth to make some damning allegations against the star and her current partner.

Korea JoongAng Daily reports that YouTuber Lee Jin-ho had come forth to accuse Han Areum and Seo Dong Hoon of fraud, with screenshots showing that the couple have been demanding money from Instagram followers to pay for medical fees for both Han Areum and her children.

The same Korea JoongAng Daily report states that upon regaining consciousness on 29 March, Han Areum denied being the one to demand money from her followers and instead claimed that it was the doing of a hacker impersonating her and her partner.

Despite the denials, Dispatch released an expose on Han Areum and Seo Dong Hoon on April 1, with heavy allegations to assert that Han Areum and Seo Dong Hoon had indeed been frauding fans of money, and accusing Seo Dong Hoon of being a notorious scammer with a criminal record for scamming and s e xual assault.

Koreaboo reports that Han Areum has continued to insist on her and Seo Dong Hoon's innocence and blaming the alleged scamming incidents on hackers, and claims she will be escalating matters to her lawyers.

However, Dispatch has come up with a follow-up report on April 3, with picture proof that can verify that the person behind the scams was not a hacker like claimed, but Han Areum herself.

Dispatch had also revealed that they had attempted to reach out to Han Areum to clarify matters, but had been blocked from doing so on all communication channels.

Amidst the controversy, Allkpop reports that Han Areum has turned to broadcast jockeying with AfreecaTV, where her main content was to address the allegations. She mentioned that her children are now under the custody of the government and housed in a protection office.

Image: KBS2

Soon after, Insight reported that Han Areum and her mother had been charged with child abuse, and she was barred from approaching her children until July 21. Police revealed that there was no evidence that her ex-husband had abused the children, and this represents a turning point in the case, as the supposed victim is now revealed to be an abuser themselves.

Image: MBK Entertainment

With fresh allegations against her, Nate reported that Han Areum had broken up with her fiancee and then-boyfriend, claimed that he had forced her to commit fraud, and stated that she would sue him. Given that authorities are now charging her directly, it's unclear what the reality is behind her claim.

Image: KBS2