Former T-ara member Areum has been sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, on charges of child abuse and defamation against her ex-husband. The court also ordered her to complete 40 hours of child abuse prevention training.
A Star News report on October 9th confirmed her January sentence is now final after the court dismissed her appeal.
The charges began during a tumultuous period last year amid the singer’s messy and very public divorce. In March 2024, Areum took to social media to publicly accuse her then-husband of child abuse and domestic violence. Shortly after making the allegations, she was hospitalized following a suicide attempt.
However, a subsequent police investigation cleared her ex-husband of the child abuse charges.
Following his exoneration, the ex-husband filed a complaint against Areum for defamation over her public remarks. He also accused her and her mother of separate instances of child abuse and of abducting a minor. The court also sentenced Areum’s mother to four months in prison, suspended for one year, on the charge of abducting a minor.
Areum first joined the popular girl group T-ara in 2012 but left after about a year. She has since been a frequent topic of headlines due to her personal life. While in the middle of her public divorce proceedings, she announced that she was already in a new relationship. She also revealed her plans to remarry her new partner as soon as the divorce was finalized.
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