In February 2021, someone came forward on social media anonymously and said that Hyunjin had been verbally abusive when they were in middle school. According to the BBC, Stray Kids' agency, JYP Entertainment, conducted their own investigation when the accusations first came to light. JYP interviewed the anonymous poster, Hyunjin's former teachers, and other classmates.

For now, Hyunjin has been suspended from working indefinitely. 

"Hyunjin will take the time to self-reflect after halting all of his activities as a celebrity," read a statement by JYP Entertainment. "He sincerely regrets and is self-reflecting on the fact that he hurt various people in middle school with his rough and unsuitable words. He has sincerely apologised to those who were hurt and is doing his best so that those people can heal from those wounds."

The statement went on to say that certain people JYP spoke with have "memories of that time are completely different from each other," and to ask the public not to spread rumors about the matter.

"Lastly, we ask that everyone refrain from spreading false rumors and speculative reports," they wrote. "We will take more careful measures regarding the trainee and artist selection process that we weren’t alert about before."