SM Entertainment has shared RIIZE‘s Seunghan will indefinitely suspend his activities.
In a statement shared by SM Entertainment, they announced they will be taking strong legal action against the malicious content being spread through editing and that Seunghan will be going on a hiatus.
Hello, this is SM Entertainment. We would like to inform you regarding RIIZE’s Seunghan.
Seunghan sincerely apologizes and is reflecting on the disappointment and confusion he has caused to not only the group and his group members but also to the fans related to his private matters that were recently leaked and distributed through online channels.
Because of this, Seunghan has felt the burden of responsibility and after serious consideration, he has expressed to halt his activities for the sake of the group.
We have also decided that it was unreasonable for him to continue his activities under these circumstances so Seunghan’s activities will be indefinitely suspended with respect to his opinion that he did not want to cause any more damage to the team and the members.
Therefore, starting today (November 22), RIIZE will be active as six members, excluding Seunghan.
It is a sudden situation but it was decided after careful discussion with the artist himself, so we ask for your understanding. We feel a great sense of responsibility for neglecting our artist management, even before their debut. Once again, we sincerely apologize to the fans.
However, the photos and videos that are being leaked and distributed without permission were private moments that were taken as trainees before their debut. They were edited several times to intentionally caused misunderstandings.
In addition, the individual who leaked and distributed the videos and photos in question has committed serious defamation against the artist by spreading fabricated and false information that is different from the truth. They have used non-existent messenger conversations and other malicious methods to create and spread groundless information.
As soon as we became aware of this, we began gathering information and monitoring the situation to collect evidence and identify the source of the unauthorized leaks and those who spread it. We plan to submit a complaint to the police station this afternoon.
In addition, we are considering additional legal measures against specific individuals for matters such as defamation of our artists through the unauthorized leak and dissemination of the the content and other illegal acts such as cyber crimes and blackmail.
We will strongly respond to all secondary acts of harm such as creating, spreading, and reproducing rumors related to our artists through additional posts. For the sake of the artists and the fans who love them, we will respond with no leniency.
We will continue to do our best to protect our artists. Thank you.
— SM Entertainment
Seunghan first came into the spotlight when he was accused of disrespecting LE SSERAFIM’s Eunchae in a private livestream. Soon after, a video of him allegedly smoking went viral, and some of his alleged text messages soon also appeared on the internet.
New Text Conversation Between RIIZE’s Seunghan And His Friend Gets Leaked Amidst Scandals
