Let's make 2020 the year when the bullying scandal is finally laid to rest as it should have been over seven years ago and all the hate, abuse and lies stop.

I don't hate T-ara and there has never been any good reason to believe the bullying stories. I am very glad that their reputation has been restored but not happy with the way it happened. The popular view that Hwayoung is responsible for their troubles is wrong. The hate that fans direct at her is the kind of bullying they complained about when T-ara were on the receiving end, but now that they think she has been “exposed” they feel it's right to do the same to her. It is not.

This is just a brief introduction to my thoughts on this affair. I have written a thorough examination of it, The True Story of the T-ara Bullying Scandal, which is far too long to reproduce here. You can read it at https://t-ara-and-hwayoung.blogspot.com

I think it is the fairest and most truthful account of how the scandal developed that you will find. If you want to comment please read that first so that you understand my argument.

I am a little worried about the reaction to this, not because I will be hated (I'm used to that) but because I don't want to unleash more extreme hatred against others. Some people are angry at Hwayoung because they think she made them believe she was bullied, or made others believe it, but she did not. If they find that they agree with my ideas about what really happened the fury may make the hate campaigns against T-ara and Hwayoung look like mild criticism, and I don't want to read reports of lynch mobs. My aim is to defend the innocent, not punish the guilty, and I do not have absolute proof. Certain people have questions to answer, but they don't seem to have been asked. They should not be considered proven guilty without having a chance to defend themselves and it is not for us to impose justice.

Basic points

1) Without T-ara's tweets that made their dispute with Hwayoung public and increased its intensity the whole scandal would not have happened.

2) Hwayoung has always said the bullying rumours were not true, but many of T-ara's fans were unaware of that and still are.

3) The stories that were told about Hwayoung and Hyoyoung in February 2017 tell us nothing about whether T-ara were bullies, but the reaction of their fans was that “the truth” had “finally” been revealed and the twins were “the bullies.” After years of insisting (correctly) that there was no bullying they seemed remarkably fixated on finding bullies. All the truth that was ever needed was revealed in Hwayoung's statement in August 2012 and in T-ara's response the next day. If they had been taken seriously the scandal would have been over in that year and there would no need for me to write this and risk creating mayhem.

4) The stories have nothing to do with the bullying issue and merely create sympathy for T-ara by making Hwayoung look bad. The inevitable conclusion of my investigation is that they probably also have another purpose, which is to divert attention from the true cause of the problem.

5) The people hating Hwayoung have accepted the stories from CCM without reservation, but we need to subject them to proper scrutiny. The company had a commercial interest in protecting the image of T-ara, who were their biggest earner, and their CEO, Kim Kwang Soo, lied at least twice when he fired Hwayoung.

The story offered by CCM/MBK and the staff, and endlessly repeated and embellished by fans, does not make sense. Here are a few questions which have never been answered by the Hwayoung haters.

1) If Hwayoung was not genuinely injured why would she want want to miss the concerts at the Budokan? Why would she go to three hospitals, turn the other members against her and have a miserable time for the entire three days in Japan? It would have much been easier and far more fun to do the rehearsal and the concerts.

2) Why did the manager who went to the first hospital with Hwayoung report that she would be fine for the concerts when he must have known that she thought she would not? He should have been trying make things run smoothly by preparing the others for the chance that she would be unable to perform. My very strong suspicion is that he was trying to divide the group and force Hwayoung out, and a few days later he got what he wanted.

3) Hwayoung has never said anything bad about T-ara but is often accused of destroying them with her lies. What did she say that was not true?

4) Hwayoung is often accused of playing the victim, meaning the victim of T-ara's bullying. How does this fit with her denial that any bullying happened? Don't give me complaints about her posting pictures of herself with an apple or wearing a Marine hat; those are gestures of support. Don't give me the Taxi interview as an example; she said nothing about T-ara that they had not said themselves and she said she was immature too.

5) Why did the anonymous staff member claim to be unable to watch Hwayoung playing the victim on Taxi when she did nothing of the sort? It looks suspicious enough on its own, but revealing the Hyoyoung story without consulting Areum while pretending to be so concerned about how she was treated makes it even more incriminating. Areum was very badly affected by that and by the reaction against the twins. She has said that she was hurt by the staff and that Hwayoung was a friend who took good care of her.

Part of the answer is the tendency to interpret people's words in a way that confirms the way we feel about them. This is very common and may have resulted in the staff member actually believing to some extent that Hwayoung was playing the victim. I strongly suspect that other aspects of the motive were revenge and fear of what Hwayoung might say about the staff. The aim was to destroy her image so that nobody would want to listen to her. It was an almost total success, and not mentioning her bad relationship with the staff at first was a very smart ploy which gave the impression that it was about defending T-ara.

6) Why did that staff member have a copy of the Kakao Talk conversation between Hyoyoung and Areum? This is purported to be someone who no longer worked for the company. Was it stolen and kept in readiness for an opportunity to bring Hwayoung down? Was the whole operation really run by MBK? We don't know but it reeks of hypocrisy and deceit.

The words and actions of the management and staff seem insincere and self-serving, a masterclass in distraction and blame-shifting which has been very successful so far. In contrast, all the members, including Hwayoung, say virtually the same things and never blame anyone else for the way it all turned out. They are the people I believe.