Former AOA member Kwon Mina has opened up again about the controversies surrounding her.
On the 1st, Kwon Mina posted an alarming message, which included the details of her rescue after attempting suicide.
Former AOA’s Kwon Mina Posts Highly Alarming Message
Subsequently, she posted lengthy message about her life on her social media account. The contents reveal hardships and pain so severe it’s hard to believe they belong to just one person.
She revealed that before she was born, her father rejected her, but her mother’s strong will brought her into the world. Throughout kindergarten, she was exposed to her father’s violence. Around age six, when her mother collapsed, Kwon Mina herself called emergency services, which ultimately led to her parents’ divorce.
After her parents divorced, she grew up in poor conditions infested with bugs and without hot water. She developed obsessive-compulsive tendencies like cleanliness. Although she showed promising mathematical talent and received recognition, she started working from the first year of middle school to support her struggling mother, who lacked child support from her father. She eventually dropped out of school. During this time, she experienced a horrific incident where she was brutally beaten and sexually assaulted for six to seven hours by a senior delinquent at a place she went to out of concern for a friend. She hid this truth to avoid upsetting her mother and endured the pain alone, suffering betrayal by trusted friends and repeated group assaults, leading her to a near-breakdown and an attempt at self-harm.
Despite this trauma, she moved to Seoul determined to overcome her past and succeed, beginning a trainee life in the entertainment industry. However, even as a trainee, she endured verbal abuse, physical violence, and harsh errands for three and a half years. Finally debuting, she found happiness on stage and achieved popular success, even ranking number one as a singer.
Her happiness was short-lived. In 2014, upon learning her abusive father was in terminal pancreatic cancer, she felt complicated sorrow seeing him weakened. She held back her grief while continuing activities, but broke down in tears during makeup in the waiting room. Because she cried, she was verbally abused by a member and ended up unable to properly visit her father in his final days.
To avoid continued verbal abuse and bullying in the dorm and during travel, she resorted to sleeping pills to escape reality. Even minor choreography mistakes caused by medication were scolded, and unfair punishments and harassment carried on into adulthood, pushing her mental health to the brink. Eventually, overwhelmed by ongoing pressure and an anesthesia accident, she collapsed mentally and attempted suicide but was fortunately discovered by a manager and survived a dangerous period.
Even the psychiatrist she sought treatment from broke patient confidentiality by sharing counseling details with others, causing her to lose all trust in the world and fall silent again. At contract renewal, she asked for an apology for past wounds but faced arrogant attitudes, deciding to give up on her dreams and leave the group. Afterwards, she revealed part of her suffering on social media, but the response was dismissal, calling it fiction. When a member approached claiming to apologize, she threatened her with a knife and screamed, never delivering a sincere apology, according to Kwon Mina.
After debuting with AOA in 2012, Kwon Mina left the team in 2019, claiming she was bullied by members, generating sympathy. However, subsequent controversies arose over allegations of nurse power abuse, forced relationship breakups, insincere apologies and explanations on live social media, and criticisms over authenticity. Recently, she signed an exclusive contract with Moden Berry Korea but terminated it within a month. She is currently preparing for her first solo fan meeting since debut.
If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or has had self-harming thoughts, do not hesitate to reach out to your local confidential support for people in distress or to call the Lifeline. The Lifeline provides free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals. If you’re thinking about suicide, are worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, the Lifeline network is available 24/7. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline’s # is 988, OR you can call 1-800-273-8255. Crisis Text Line can be reached by texting HOME to 741741 (US), 686868 (Canada), or 85258 (UK).