International fans oppose Seunghan’s departure from RIIZE

Last Sunday, the 13th, RIIZE fans were surprised with the announcement that Seunghanwho had returned to activities with the group after a 10-month hiatus on Friday, the 11th, would be definitively removed from the lineup.

It turns out that Seunghan had been removed from RIIZE at the end of last year after photos from the time when he was a trainee began to circulate the web, as they showed him smoking a cigarette and next to a person that the media speculates to be an alleged ex-girlfriend, leaving part of the fan community south -Korean woman enraged by her idol’s behavior.

Thus, with his return announced at the end of last week, this same part of the fandom held protests against the star’s return, sending funeral wreaths to the door of SM Entertainment, resulting in the expulsion of Seunghan from RIIZE over the weekend.

The decision, however, did not please the group’s international fans, as on the change.org platform, there are some petitions asking for the return of Seunghan to the group, such as the one opened in Singapore, where the petition already has 149,501 signatures out of 150 thousand.

“He [Seunghan] had a promising future, but because of RIIZE’s horrible ‘fans’, everything led to this unfortunate fate. Many fans, mostly international fans, want him back in the group, and are still waiting for him.

By signing this petition, we protest his decision to leave the group and hope that he can join his beloved group again,” the petition reads.

Trucks were also sent to the SM Entertainment building with LED signs carrying messages of support for Seunghan.

On the web, in posts made on X (formerly Twitter), fans used the hashtags #SMSupportsBullying, #BringbackRII7E and #RII7E_or_NONE to protest the idol’s removal from RIIZE.

In some tweets, international fans said they “regret” the idol’s departure from the group, sharing records of Seunghan seeing the wreaths placed in front of the SM building in protest and his going to the subway station to see his announcements of support.

In other posts, fans criticize SM’s decision. “I never thought this was his decision. Did he really love the members so much and leave them like this? SM deserves to value its artists more. IT’S A DISGUSTING COMPANY,” wrote user @daliskyu24.

Others unfollowed the group on social media in support of Seunghan. “Thank you RIIZE for all the precious time we had, but it has come to an end now,” wrote @minmin_darla.

While some just refuse to accept the decision made after rejection from the group’s South Korean fans. “We can’t lose Seunghan to the Korean education system BRING HIM BACK,” demanded @lidolmix.