“Bae Ji-hwan hit me. He hit me [on New Year’s Eve]. The first time I was (physically) abused was on New Year’s Eve (in 2017). There (also) was verbal abuse. Before the actual physical abuse, I was under critical stress due to him and his family. His family and he repeatedly asked me to ‘endure’ him because he is a baseball player and he needs support.
The alleged incident happened on New Year’s Eve in 2017, when Bae was 18. According to Kim, Bae “threatened me he would die if I didn’t see him again. Also, he squeezed my throat until I (said) that I would love him again.
“Some ask why I didn’t report him right away — the intensity of his physical and verbal abuse was getting stronger,” Seul-Gi Kim wrote. “Because of fear, I just couldn’t go ahead and do it. What I want now is the end of this sickening relationship, a fair trial, and a just punishment.
“I have been pressured physically and mentally and that made me very scared. If you don’t have anyone reliable or good around you, you probably don’t have the courage to report the abuser. I decided to go to this path after a lot of dilemma and mental anguish. It’s a big (mental) scar that can never heal.”