Seunghan RIIZE: The undebuted rookie was "socked", "kicked out" from the group

Seunghan (RIIZE) used to be one of the names that the audience loved in the K-pop entertainment industry waiting to debut with RIIZE. However, on the eve of his debut, the male idol was involved in a series of personal lives that caused him to leave the group not long after.

Seunghan's full name is Hong Seunghan (2003) born in South Korea. In 2022, he was first introduced through the SM Rookies project. In 2023, he was chosen to debut in the new boy group RIIZE, along with 2 former NCT members, Sungchan - Shotaro and Anton - son of famous composer Yoon Sang, as well as 3 other members: Wonbin, Eunseok, Sohee. The group is managed by SM Entertainment. In the group, male idols stand out in their dancing skills.

Impressed with his masculine beauty, Seunghan was expected to be a factor in attracting fans of RIIZE. However, Seunghan was involved in a series soon after, which severely affected his career. However, Seunghan remained in the lineup and promoted his debut project Get a Guitar with the group.

On August 28, 2023, Seunghan was suddenly released intimate photos with his underage girlfriend. These photos are said to be Seunghan posing with his girlfriend Mija. The scene in the few photos was identified as being at 1 motel in Incheon. He was also accused and his girlfriend of splitting the room rent of 55,000 won (about 1 million VND).

Soon after, the accuser suddenly made a series of accusations such as the male idol being promiscuous, "digging mines" and causing his girlfriend to abort her unborn child but did not ask after that. While dating, he was said to have "caught fish with 2 hands", after breaking up with his girlfriend, he immediately went to the other person. The girlfriend prevents Seunghan from finding someone new when she receives a threat that if she intervenes, she will never see each other again. The accuser added that male idols are patriarchal, demean women, borrow your car to go on dates.

The accuser said that Seunghan had a tendency to "move his hands" during dating. The male idol even stole things from his roommates, smoking in the dormitory. Worth mentioning, the male idol also insulted senior Park Ji Hoon (want to One).

Accuser accuses Seunghan of cursing Park Ji Hoon (want to One)

In addition, he caused controversy all over social media when he leaked private chat videos. Throughout the forums, a livestream cut from Seunghan and Soobin (TXT)'s private Instagram accounts spread. Specifically, Seunghan said Soobin couldn't dance, sing, rap, but had the opportunity to be a Music Bank MC. Next, Seunghan said, "Meet our Eunchae again." In response, Soobin turned the camera back to his foot, raising his middle toe.

In that conversation, netizens claimed that Seunghan used inappropriate words with Eunchae (LE SSERAFIM). Many people believe that SM male idols disrespect Soobin when making jokes and belittling seniors.

In October 2023, he continued to be shown surreptitiously livestreaming with his girlfriend. The person who shared the photo accused Seunghan of still maintaining a relationship with his girlfriend, saying, "Even after his debut, he still sneaked up on Instagram with his lover." In addition, male idols are also falsely accused by fans, showing a different personality than the leaked videos/images. Many fans are worried that Seunghan will influence the group RIIZE if he becomes famous in the future.

At that time, the male idol was called "the most extraordinary rookie in Kpop", many people demanded to leave RIIZE and issued an official apology.

The viewer wrote, "K-pop idols are role models of young people and having a lifestyle like this is ominous, this friend should apologize and leave so as not to affect the group activities."

"The most devastated person right now is probably the rest of the group, not him. Seunghan's controversy can cause the group to go down. SM should decide soon."

Even the "phon" account threatened to expose Seunghan's bigger scandal, involving many Gen 4 idols if SM Entertainment does not take any action within 1 week.

On November 22, 2023, SM Entertainment announced that Seunghan will be taking an indefinite hiatus, and RIIZE will continue to promote with a 6-member lineup. The entertainment giant sent a deep apology to the audience, admitting that there was negligence in the process of managing the artist before his debut.

Rookie Seunghan also wrote a handwritten letter apologizing to fans and the RIIZE members, saying he was rigorously self-criticizing. "I want to say that I am truly sorry to the fans and members of RIIZE for always supporting me.

I'm doing deep self-reflection because it seems like I've done so much harm at a time when I need to work harder and be more dedicated than ever. I will self-reflect, self-examine and work harder to become a better person."

This announcement caused many people to agree because Seunghan's scandal has damaged RIIZE's reputation. Besides, there are also fans who defend and hope Seunghan will be active again soon.

However, many netizens recognize 1 detail that shows that Seunghan is unlikely to return to the group. That is the highlight of Seunghan's story on RIIZE's official Instagram account has completely "disappeared". It has been suggested that the phrase "indefinite hiatus" is just a euphemism for leaving the group.

It is likely that Seunghan will resemble Lucas (WayV/NCT). Lucas was also plagued with a series of private life scandals, wrote letters of apology and was frozen for years before officially leaving the group.

Careers are on a steady trajectory, but the RIIZE members, in addition to Seunghan, Anton and Eunseok (corrected) are constantly involved in love that makes fans' moods rise and fall like roller coasters. These noises still make Korean social media "waves", constantly speculating about the private life of gen 4 male idols.