On November 22 KST,SM Entertainment announced the news of Seunghan’s suspension of activities from RIIZE activities due to recent controversy over his personal life.
RIIZE debuted under SM Entertainment in September. However, Seunghan was embroiled in controversy because photos from his trainee days before his debut were leaked online, including photos of him smoking on the streets of Japan and videos of him making video calls with other singers.
The agency stated, “Seunghan is sincerely sorry and reflects on the disappointment and confusion caused to the team and members as well as the fans due to issues related to his personal life. Seunghan felt a burden and responsibility and after deep consideration, made the best choice for the team. He expressed his intention to suspend his activities. We respected his opinion and decided to suspend his activities indefinitely.”
As a result, RIIZE will be active with 6 members excluding Seunghan from November 22. The agency emphasized, “We feel great responsibility for being negligent in managing our artists even before their debut. We apologize once again to our fans.”
However, they announced that they would take legal action regarding the distribution of Seunghan’s private videos and photos. The agency said, “The videos and photos that are currently being leaked and distributed without permission have been reproduced several times to cause misunderstanding through intentional secondary editing,” and added, “We have collected a significant amount of evidence and identified the person who leaked and distributed the information without permission. We plan to submit a complaint to the local police station.”
