Stray Kids’ Hyunjin resumes activities after bullying controversy

Hyunjin of K-pop boy band Stray Kids has resumed his activities with the group after taking time out due to accusations that he had bullied a classmate in middle school.

The act’s agency, JYP Entertainment, officially announced Saturday that Stray Kids had released a new record, “Mixtape: Oh,” as a whole group including Hyun-jin.

In February, a former classmate who did not want his identity made public posted a message online saying he had suffered “severe emotional struggles” because of verbal abuse from Hyunjin in middle school. Hyunjin met the accuser in person and apologized. He also stopped working with Stray Kids and said he wanted to spend some time reflecting on his past wrongdoings.

“Hyunjin has been reflecting on himself by making donations and joining volunteer work during his break,” the agency said. Starting in July, it added, Hyunjin would return to Stray Kids and aimed to show a more mature attitude. 

The new music is the first from the group since it won “Kingdom: Legendary War,” a TV contest show on Mnet.

Stray Kids showed off their talent on the last episode June 3, beating prominent boy groups such as Ateez, The Boyz, iKON and SF9.

The title song -- written and composed by Bang Chan, Changbin and Han of 3racha, a production unit within the group -- is about being in love. The video, released on YouTube the same day as the new album, garnered over 6.4 million views within a single day.

By Kim Hae-yeon (hykim@heraldcorp.com)