Seunghan Leaving RIIZE? SM Entertainment Addresses Idol's Status in Group in Official Statement
After about an 11-month hiatus, Seunghan's status in RIIZE has finally been confirmed by SM Entertainment. The official position was posted minutes after rumors of the idol's withdrawal from the team spread.
On October 11, news outlet SWAY, infamous for its exclusive insider's information, released an article reporting that Seunghan will leave his group RIIZE after about a year since he announced an indefinite hiatus.
Based on the writing, SM Entertainment is now in the process of finalizing his withdrawal before officially announcing it to the public.
In addition to this, RIIZE members were also said to have collectively agreed for Seunghan to leave the team.
However, the article was deleted shortly, following an announcement from SM Entertainment that Seunghan will finally go back to RIIZE.
The article, which countered the initial rumor, apologized to BRIIZEs (fandom) for its lack of updates about this matter and attested that Seunghan will slowly try to participate in the group's activities until he can finally join them in their new music as well.
Here's SM Entertainment's official statement on Seunghan's return:
Hello, to all BRIIZEs who love RIIZE. This is SM's Wizard Production, the producer of RIIZE.
We would like to carefully bring up the topic of member Seunghan’s return and the direction of RIIZE's activities.
As fans know, it has been about 10 months since Seunghan halted team activities due to private life issues before his debut. Seunghan acknowledges that his past actions were wrong, and he is deeply reflecting with an apology to the members and fans and has been on hiatus for nearly a year. "
"We also recognized that Seunghan’s past actions were not desirable as an artist, so we have been taking a long time to decide when to resume activities.
We sympathize with the fact that fans have been curious and worried about Seunghan’s activities due to our lack of guidance, but we sincerely apologize for only being able to tell you our decision regarding the direction of RIIZE’s activities now after much thought.
We have carefully planned RIIZE's next chapter since before their debut, and we have decided that it will be more meaningful when all 7 members are together. "
(Photo : RIIZE/X)
"As a result of several discussions with the staff and members regarding the direction of the team’s activities, we have decided that Seunghan will return to the team.
Seunghan will join the team and prepare for a certain period of time, and will sequentially participate in some of the team’s schedules planned for November to greet fans again.
Seunghan has been working hard to build up his skills even during his hiatus, and we hope you will continue to watch over him with warm eyes as he has more to show in the future.
We once again apologize for the confusion and difficulties caused to fans who have watched over RIIZE's growth and cheered him on."
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Written by Eunice Dela Cruz