Music

After a nearly yearlong absence, the seventh member of breakout K-pop group RIIZE will rejoin his band mates.
RIIZE’s official social media accounts announced that Seunghan will gradually participate in select group activities starting in November, marking a return that’s been highly anticipated yet fraught with confusing controversy.

Beginning in August 2023, Seunghan’s break stemmed from pre-debut photos and videos of the young star leaking that ignited backlash within some of South Korea’s more conservative social climate. The images showed Seunghan in a bed with an unidentified woman and smoking a cigarette, leading to some fans labeling his actions as inappropriate for a K-pop idol and demanding his removal from RIIZE. Last November, the group’s label, SM Entertainment, announced that Seunghan would “halt activities indefinitely” while reflecting on his behavior with no further updates from the label in a decision that left fans and industry insiders forced to speculate about his future.

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The controversy surrounding Seunghan’s return reflected the broader tension between the global aspirations of K-pop artists and the expectations placed on them by domestic audiences. While RIIZE has earned international acclaim for music and the group’s authentic approach to social media and fan connection — highlighted in a Billboard digital cover touting them as “K-pop stars on the rise” from this past June — Seunghan’s situation highlights the pressure increasingly international idols face to uphold traditional values in a rapidly modernizing industry.

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In the statement, SM Entertainment acknowledged both Seunghan’s personal growth during his time away and the label’s internal deliberation on the timing of his return. While many fans will welcome his reappearance (an online petition requesting his return had 20,000 signatures), the decision to reintegrate him into RIIZE marks a pivotal moment in how the group will navigate its future trajectory both at home and abroad and, potentially, how the K-pop industry can more seamlessly navigate controversies of cultural clashes.

Seunghan followed up on the statement with a handwritten letter uploaded to RIIZE’s Weverse account, in which he apologized to his fans, company, and band mates. The 21-year-old shared that he questioned his future as a musician but pointed out that his RIIZE members Shotaro, Eunseok, Sungchan, Wonbin, Sohee and Anton actually reached out to him.

“Because I caused such great disappointment, I continued to have more realistic thoughts such as, ‘Will I be able to stand on stage again?’” he wrote. “During that time, the members held my hand once again. It must have been a very difficult decision, and I am only filled with gratitude and apologetic feelings for giving me another chance. I know there is so much I need to show to the members who have taken my hand again, the fans who are worried that the achievements made in my absence might be tarnished, and the company that made the tough decision. Of course, I feel burden and fear about this.”

Earlier today (Oct. 10), RIIZE released the “KENZIE RE:WORKS” remix of their pre-release buzz single “Memories,” which dropped ahead of the septet’s official debut in September 2023.

Read the full statement below (with translation provided via Soompi):

To the BRIIZE [RIIZE’s fandom] who love RIIZE,

Hello, this is Wizard Production, who is in charge of producing for RIIZE.
We would like to cautiously make a statement regarding member Seunghan’s return and the direction of RIIZE’s future activities.

As the fans know, it has been around 10 months since Seunghan went on a hiatus from group activities due to issues with his pre-debut personal life.

Seunghan acknowledges that his past actions were wrong, and he has currently halted activities for nearly a year while deeply reflecting [on his actions] and feeling apologetic to the other members and his fans.
We also recognized that Seunghan’s past actions were not appropriate as an artist, which is why it took us a long time to debate the timing of his return to activities.

Because there was no announcement regarding Seunghan’s activities, the fans went beyond curiosity to become worried and concerned, and we empathize with those feelings. But as we continued to debate the matter from various angles, [our decision took some time], and we sincerely apologize for the fact that we are only now telling you our decision about the direction of RIIZE’s future activities.

We poured our heart and soul into planning out RIIZE even before their debut, and we have determined that RIIZE’s next chapter would be even more meaningful if the seven members were together. Therefore, after numerous discussions with the staff and members about the direction of the group’s future activities, it has been decided that Seunghan will be returning to the group.
After joining the group and preparing for a certain amount of time, we plan for Seunghan to gradually participate in some of the group’s scheduled activities for November and greet the fans once again.

Even during his hiatus, Seunghan has consistently worked to build his skills, and as he still has a lot to show you in the future, we hope that you will look warmly upon him.

Once again, we sincerely apologize for causing confusion and difficulty for the fans who have watched over and cheered for RIIZE’s growth.
However, as RIIZE is a group that aims to rise and realize their dreams together, the members think of the group as their top priority and are, even at this very moment, working hard to practice [for their future activities].
We ask that you trust our decision so that we can properly show the fans a RIIZE consisting of seven members.

We are certain that many people are curious about what RIIZE’s next chapter will be, how much farther they will rise, what sorts of dreams they are harboring, and how they will realize those dreams in the future.
Because we, the people who are the closest to RIIZE and who are also passionate fans of RIIZE ourselves, are also eagerly looking forward to RIIZE’s next chapter.

We will continue to work hard in the future to repay [the fans] with RIIZE’s great music and performances while sharing the members’ dreams.
We ask that you stay with the members and share all of their moments of rising and realizing that will continue to unfold in the future.

Seunghan’s Weverse letter (via Soompi):

Hello, this is Seunghan.

First of all, I sincerely want to apologize to the members and the fans. When the photos from before my debut were released, although they were photos of me, I was deeply disappointed and regretful about myself. If even I felt that way, I can’t even imagine how the members and fans by my side must have felt.

You must have been angry, shocked, and disappointed. I am truly sorry to the fans who supported us from the very beginning, which was such a crucial time, and to those who were hurt by my immature actions. I also feel sorry to the members, with whom I should have been working hard to move forward together, which led to my sudden suspension of activities. I want to apologize to everyone who had to endure and overcome that situation. I felt both sorry for the situation and a sense of despair at not being able to be with everyone.

Because I caused such great disappointment, I continued to have more realistic thoughts such as, “Will I be able to stand on stage again? Can I continue making music?”

During that time, the members held my hand once again. It must have been a very difficult decision, and I am only filled with gratitude and apologetic feelings for giving me another chance.

I know there is so much I need to show to the members who have taken my hand again, the fans who are worried that the achievements made in my absence might be tarnished, and the company that made the tough decision. Of course, I feel burden and fear about this aspect.

However, I am determined to work even harder and do better because of the trust placed in me.

I will strive to be a good member who takes responsibility and does not tarnish the achievements the members have built up. I want to become a necessary presence to the team RIIZE.

Once again, I want to apologize to the members and company staff who made the difficult decision and to the fans who must have been shocked. I will work more diligently and responsibly in the future.