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Recently, HYBE was exposed for its alleged involvement in former RIIZE member Seunghan's controversies. On October 24, HYBE's representatives attended the National Assembly's state audit to raise concerns about its internal reports. There, several alleged comments made by the employees were revealed, exposing derogatory and sabotaging statements raised against other K-pop idols.
Some of the K-pop idols and groups allegedly mentioned in these comments include aespa, RIIZE, ZEROBASEONE, and more. A recent leak from the internal report also exposed a point made toward RIIZE, centering around their past photos. When netizens came across this point, they couldn't help but connect it to the controversies around RIIZE's Seunghan.
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While the exact details of HYBE's involvement with RIIZE's controversies were not explained through the internal reports, fans began to speculate that the label might've been behind the leak of Seunghan's past photos, which inevitably led to the rise of controversies. These controversies snowballed into the idol's hiatus in November 2023, and his eventual departure from RIIZE in October 2024.
Subsequently, several fans and netizens have been angered about the same. Here are a few reactions found on X:
"Hybe are genuinely the most pathetic company ever, regardless of whether this is true or not. this is the craziest inferiority complex i've ever seen a company have."
"Does this mean HYBE is to blame for seunghan’s past being exposed?" said a fan.
"Doesn’t this literally mean hybe was the reason for seunghan’s photos being everywhere???" added another fan.
"Everything happening to that company is just built up karma, they tormented all these groups from across the industry and now it’s coming back to bite them," commented a netizen.
More fans and netizens speculated that the entertainment company might've participated in the controversies surrounding the former RIIZE member.
"Hybe is the main evil behind every smear campaign especially against sm artists and we're finally witnessing their downfall, about time!" stated an X user.
"Wait hold on.. so hybe was behind all of these riize past photos??? including seunghan?" added another user.
"Hybe is just a corrupt company that uses their influence to sabotage other groups specifically in SM and want to benefit by promoting their own groups," commented a netizen.
"So seung-han suffered all of that because of HYBE's obsession with beating SM ?" added another fan on X.
All you need to know about former RIIZE member Seunghan's controversies
In 2023, a series of controversies around the former RIIZE member Seunghan landed on the internet. The first one landed in August, where alleged pictures of the idol with his former girlfriend were exposed. While the idol was heavily criticized for his behavior and actions prior to his debut, more leaked photos then reached netizens.
These included pictures and videos of the idol holding a lit cigarette. The controversies continued to snowball, as an unknown netizen released a post online sharing the idol's alleged behavior. This netizen claimed to be a fellow trainee of the former RIIZE member, explaining that the idol was allegedly rude to them and other trainees during his pre-debut days.
Soon after the land of these controversies, SM Entertainment announced Seunghan's hiatus in November 2023. Following the same, the singer was absent from all scheduled activities with RIIZE, also maintaining minimal public presence otherwise. On October 11, SM Entertainment and its subsidiary announced his gradual return to the group.
However, less than 48 hours after this announcement, they released another statement, expressing that he would be permanently departing from RIIZE due to backlash from netizens.
Regardless, many fans have been showcasing their displeasure with the idol's departure and have been advocating for his return in various ways.
