SM Entertainment, the Korean agency that removed K-pop idol Seunghan from boy band RIIZE, now wants to protect him.
International fans are boycotting RIIZE after SM Entertainment announced Seunghan’s departure from the group on Oct. 13 after bowing to pressure from some fans in Korea who opposed his return.
The agency changed its decision after announcing on Oct. 11 that Seunghan would be returning as a member of RIIZE.
The fans in Korea sent hundreds of protest wreaths in front of the SM Entertainment building in Seoul with different messages including “RIIZE is six,” meaning RIIZE should only be composed of six members without Seunghan.
Seunghan (Facebook)
To counter SM Entertainment’s decision to remove Seunghan, international fans including those in the Philippines have launched a campaign to boycott RIIZE and ask the agency to bring Seunghan back to the group.
RIIZE is facing a backlash from international fans. K-pop album and merchandise sellers announced they have stopped restocking RIIZE albums and merchandise to support the campaign.
Thousands of fans have unfollowed RIIZE’s social media accounts in Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
Amid the backlash, SM Entertainment issued a statement on Oct. 17, saying that it will protect Seunghan from malicious posts and comments, and attacks.
“We would like to inform you about our legal response to the violation of rights of our artist Seunghan. Since his debut, we have continuously monitored malicious posts and comments containing false facts, personal attacks, insults, and slander regarding Seunghan, and have already collected a considerable amount of evidence and are responding by submitting lawsuits against various illegal acts,” SM Entertainment said.
It added, “In particular, we would like to inform you once again that writing false facts that defame the character and honor of an artist by impersonating an acquaintance on social media, and maliciously reproducing and indiscriminately distributing such false facts are clearly criminal acts.”
“Including the above acts, our company will take legal action as soon as the damage is confirmed regarding all illegal acts related to Seunghan, and we will continue to respond strongly without compromise or leniency. We would like to thank all the fans who have supported Seunghan, and we will continue to do our best to protect our artists in the future,” it said.
However, fans criticized SM Entertainment for the statement, saying it should have done this last year when posts were uploaded against Seunghan.
Here are some of the comments and replies to SM Entertainment’s post on X:
- “Thanks for this, but we need REAL PROOF of the legal action you talked about 10 months ago!”
- “you're ten months too late. no matter how much you try now, it will never undo the damage done to his mental health so f**k you”
- “the only proof we need that u really take this matter seriously is u putting him back to his group.”
- “WE DEMAND BETTER TREATMENT #홍승한_법적보호_촉구 RIIZE IS SEVEN #WEWAITEDFOR_SEUNGHAN BRING BACK SEUNGHAN #SMStandsForBullying #SeunghanWasBullied #SaveRIIZEfromSM #SMStandsForBullying”
- “BRING BACK SEUNGHAN FIRST!!!!!!!!!”
- “INTERNATIONAL FANS MATTER #홍승한_법적보호_촉구 #WEWAITEDFOR_SEUNGHAN BRING BACK SEUNGHAN #SMStandsForBullying #SeunghanWasBullied #SaveRIIZEfromSM”
- “You have been saying the same thing since forever. Without any outcome!!! See what had happened last weekend. If you more strict and show that you protect your artist I believe that things will not be happening… it all talk no action. keep boycotting guysss!!!”
- “Thankyou for this, but we want ORIGINAL PROOF of the legal action you talked about few months back”