Do we like Shin Jimin?
Our score: 5 out of 10. No harmful words or company turned up, but a decade of alleged mistreatment of a bandmate, partly apologised for, and thin good news leave her in the middle.
Shin Jimin debuted in 2012 as the leader of AOA, one of K-pop's big girl groups of the 2010s. Her time at the top ended in July 2020 in a very public blow-up, and she has been rebuilding as a solo act ever since.
The story goes like this. In early July 2020, former AOA member Kwon Mina alleged on Instagram that Jimin had bullied her for about a decade. Jimin first posted the single word “novel” in response, which was read as a dismissal, and then deleted it. Mina answered by posting a photo of her scarred wrist and asking Jimin to admit it and apologise.
Jimin went to see Mina, then apologised publicly. She wrote: “I'm not good enough to lead a group and what I did was wrong.” FNC Entertainment announced she was leaving AOA and halting all activity. No court case followed, and the allegations were never tested or decided. Reports on whether police looked into it conflict.
On the harm test, there's not much to go on. Searches turned up nothing from her about LGBTQ+ people, women, migrants, vaccines or the planet, and no pattern of working with people who push harm. That's an absence of evidence rather than a glowing reference, so call it a pass with a thin file.
She returned to music after a couple of years away and is working as a solo artist. In June 2026 she put out new music and posted about how rough the lead-up was, writing “Many people hate me.” That reads as someone who knows she's still carrying the 2020 saga.
The old stoush isn't done. On 27 September 2026, Mina posted again about what she says she went through over 11 years, as Jimin's glam Hong Kong holiday snaps were circulating. The report carried no reply from Jimin, so there is no fresh word from her.