SM Entertainment launched their newest girl group Hearts2Hearts on Feb. 24, revealing its first  girl group after Aespa four years ago. Hearts2Hearts consist of 8 members: Carmen Nyoman Ayu Carmenita, Jiwoo Choi, Yuha, Stella Kim, Juun, A-na, Ian, and Ye-on.

Amidst the excitement for the group, they debuted with the song “The Chase,” inspired by the Lewis Carroll classic Alice in Wonderland. They also performed at SM Entertainment’s 30th anniversary concert and explained that they were honored to be debuting in such a special year.

However, controversy followed the fancy debut of Heart2Hearts. Their member Ian garnered controversy after a YouTube comment highlighting her past school violence. The commenter claimed to be a classmate of Ian in primary school and said that Ian once threw a large rock targeted at another classmate. Although it did not harm anyone, it broke a large fish tank at school. 

“Although there are multiple allegations, there is no exact proof that she was a part of school violence,” Serena Lim (10), K-culture enthusiast, said. “Ian should get punished if the statements about her are true, but it is still too early to determine this yet.” 

Soon after the first exposé, multiple allegations followed Ian and fueled the controversy. SM Entertainment, amidst the controversy, has remained quiet without any statements.