South Korean girl group AOA's leader Jimin, whose real name is Shin Ji-min, has left the group following explosive accusations of bullying and harassment from former member Mina.

According to Korean entertainment news portal Soompi, AOA's management FNC Entertainment said last Saturday that Jimin, 29, "has decided to leave AOA and halt all of her activities in the entertainment industry".

This means that AOA, originally an eight-member group, is now down to four members.

Last Friday, former member Mina, whose real name is Kwon Min-ah, uploaded a series of long Instagram posts on suffering a decade of bullying from Jimin. Mina, 26, left the group in May last year.

She said that when her father was battling cancer in 2014, Jimin told her not to cry as it would "ruin the mood". Mina said she did not manage to see her father before he died as she was afraid that if she stopped working, Jimin would scold her.

Mina alleged that Jimin had hit her when they were trainees and made disparaging comments about her body. She said that due to the stress and anxiety caused by Jimin, she attempted suicide multiple times and posted a photo of scars on her wrists as evidence.

In response, Jimin uploaded a since-deleted Instagram story which said "Fiction" on a black screen.

She later issued a formal apology, saying that in wanting AOA to present their best face, she lacked "a humane side as a leader".