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On Friday, December 27, RIIZE members were seen departing for Tokyo, Japan, from the Gimpo International Airport in Seoul for their upcoming schedules. When the six members made their way through the airport, several fans were seen crowding them and mobbing the K-pop idols.
Though the group's security tried to prevent the fans from getting closer, the excessive number of people crowding the members couldn't be stopped. When pictures and videos of the same landed on the internet, fans were left frustrated by the people's actions. Several netizens called out the fans at the airport for their lack of respect for the members' personal boundaries.
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Additionally, fans online also expressed their frustration towards the group's agency, SM Entertainment. They alleged that RIIZE's fandom consisted of some obsessive fans who aimed to take control of the group, as netizens tied this recent incident to the departure of Seunghan from RIIZE in early October.
Given that Seunghan was announced to have departed from the group due to some fans' backlash, many netizens expressed that such people were not true supporters of the members. They also added that they were displeased with SM Entertainment allegedly prioritizing the opinion of obsessive fans over the group's true supporters. All this led to 'SM CLEANSE THE FANDOM' trending on X.
Here are a few fan reactions regarding the same:
"They’ve really crossed the line. SM, is this the kind of fans you side with?" said a fan on X.
"They need to protect their artist and establish boundaries to create a healthy fandom," added another fan.
"Artist safety should always come first - physically, mentally, emotionally. the amount of trauma sm has put riize through in their first year is inexcusable. these types of 'fans' should not be allowed," commented a netizen.
"THEY REALLY NEED A F**KING FANDOM CLEANSE," added another one.
More fans and netizens talked about how they were concerned for the group members' safety and called out SM Entertainment for their lack of action against the same.
"And this is what SM stands by? disgusting," stated a fan.
"Seriously, I was really concerned for their safety... when will you take legal action sm? evidence is literally infront of you," said a X user.
"I can predict that if you don't protect your artists now, bad things will happen again in the future from the fans you choose," commented a netizen.
"We need to change SM’s attitude! we won’t stop until full justice is served for RII7E," added another user.
All you need to know about the departure of Seunghan from the K-pop boy group RIIZE
On October 11, 2024, Wizard Production, the division under SM Entertainment managing RIIZE, released a statement. They announced that Seunghan, who was on an 11-month hiatus, would slowly return back to the group's schedules. The idol entered a hiatus in November 2023, following several controversies surrounding him, including allegedly smoking and kissing his former girlfriend.
While many fans were thrilled about the idol's re-entry into RIIZE, certain fans were also unhappy with the same, due to Seunghan's controversies. Therefore, on October 13, SM Entertainment and Wizard Production released another statement, explaining that the idol had chosen to depart the agency due to the backlash.
Here's what part of their statement read:
"Reflecting on each response and opinion from the fans made us realize that our decision only caused more confusion and hurt. At the same time, Seunghan expressed his intention to leave the team for the sake of the members and fans."
The idol has not been part of any of the RIIZE schedules ever since. SM Entertainment subsequently announced that Seunghan will be debuting as a soloist in 2025 through the same agency. However, fans remain unhappy with the turn of events and have been consistently advocating for the idol's return to the group, through online campaigns, physical protests, and so on.
