South Korean singer and actor Suzy Bae has revealed why she signed a government petition supporting popular YouTuber Yang Ye-Won, who had earlier said that she was sexually harassed. The former miss A member wants to bring justice to Ye-Won.
In a long post, which she shared on Instagram, the singer talked about Ye-Won's sexual harassment controversy adding that what happened to the YouTuber is disappointing. She wants an investigation to be held in the case if the post is true.
Suzy said that she can't help much with the investigation, but she can lend her support to the YouTuber and share her courageous story. She also accepted that her support to Suzy Bae might have made it a biased case since the investigation is still underway. The South Korean also revealed that she intervened not because of feminism, but as a human being.
She started her post describing how Ye-Won was sexually harassed by a studio during a photoshoot which made her want to attempt suicide. According to Suzy, Ye-Won was not aware of the nature of the photoshoot planned by the studio. She got to know about its explicit nature only after reaching the location.
Here is what Suzy Bae's post read, as translated by AllKPop.
When I read it in the morning, it was difficult to read the detailed account of what happened, and at the same time, it was disappointing that this shocking case and her courage weren't being reported on in the news. If the post is true, I thought more people should know about this, and it'd be good if they had an investigation. I hoped there wouldn't be any more victims like this in the future.
However when I looked online, the case didn't appear anywhere, and there was no way to confirm whether it was true. I thought, 'What is this?' Only or two posts were on Instagram.
At dawn, I texted my friend, saying, 'There's this case, but I don't think people know about it. I don't know what I should do about it,' and fell asleep. When I woke up and searched online again, it was a relief to see the case was reported online and made headlines as well as real-time search results.
It was a relief to hear an investigation has started, and I hoped this case would end well no matter what. In my spare moments, I searched for articles while doing other work, but the comments on the article were shocking.
Of course, they're still investigating. No information has been released yet. They're just one-sided claims, and there isn't any evidence that supports either party enough for us to discuss who's at fault. It's hard to know what parts were over-exaggerated, what parts were left out, who's telling the truth, and how much of the story is true. This is why I couldn't make a final decision about this early in the morning. However, I didn't feel good when I saw the comments that got the core of this case wrong.
Is there anything I can do? Since the investigation for this case isn't over, there's nothing I could do to help. I wanted to at least provide support to the woman whose photos were released and her courageous story. I saw comments saying it'd be good to have a petition that asks for a more aggressive look into the leaked hidden camera and illegal photos, so I participated on the petition site. The request for this case is that it spread more widely so people could know about it - it's a small gesture, but it's something I could do.
Some pointed out that I may have hurried into intervening on a petition like this. It's a valid point. Knowing my influence and because it's a case that hasn't produced any results, my actions could've tipped bias to one side.
Regardless of what happens, I thought one of the two parties could hope for a proper conclusion as a result of the news spreading. Either way, there's a victim. By gaining more people's attention, I hoped a more precise plan for a solution would come out, which is why I didn't want to leave the case alone and see it just pass over.
It's not because the person is a woman. It's not a problem concerning feminism. I intervened as one person would do for another. I decided to intervene as a human being.