Riize member Seunghan leaves K-pop group 2 days after being reinstated following fans’ protests

Wizard Production, a division of South Korean entertainment company SM Entertainment, announced on Sunday (Oct 13) that Seunghan – a member of the K-pop boy group Riize – would be leaving the team.
The news came as a reversal of a previous announcement on Oct 11 which stated that the 21-year-old would be rejoining the group after being on hiatus for about 11 months.
Seunghan debuted as a member of Riize on September 2023, alongside Shotaro, Eunseok, Sungchan, Wonbin, Sohee and Anton. However, just two months later, Seunghan took an indefinite hiatus after leaked photos of him smoking and in bed with an unidentified woman were spread online – leading to immense backlash from fans.
According to SM Entertainment back then, Seunghan “felt responsible [for the situation]” and opted to pause his activities “for the sake of Riize”.
Riize went on to promote as a six-member group, releasing its first extended play Riizing in June this year. The group also held a concert in Singapore.
Following SM Entertainment’s announcement on Oct 11 that Seunghan would be returning to Riize, many fans criticised the decision and expressed their unhappiness in many ways.
Hundreds of funeral wreaths were reportedly sent to SM Entertainment’s headquarters, with messages such as “Riize is six” and “Hong Seung-han out”.
Other fans resorted to sending protest trucks and crashing SM’s messaging board.
On the night of Oct 13, Seunghan uploaded a handwritten letter on fan platform Weverse – explaining his decision to permanently leave Riize.
“After wondering deeply about whether I had been thinking too much about myself, whether I was causing too much harm to the members [of Riize] and whether it was okay for me to be part of Riize, who should be loved, all I could think about was feeling worried and regret.
“So I think it is better for everyone if I leave the team. I don’t want to cause any more confusion and hurt to the fans. I don’t want to cause any more damage to the members and I don’t want to cause any more damage to the company.”
He added: “I would like thank the company and the members who worked hard at giving me another chance. Although I am a very inadequate person, I am sorry and grateful to those who have supported me so far.”