Seunghan is confirmed going on an indefinite hiatus, according to an announcement from SM Entertainment.

Here's what happened.

RIIZE Seunghan to Take Indefinite Hiatus, SM to Take Legal Action Against Malicious Content

On November 22, SM Entertainment officially announced that Seunghan would be undergoing an indefinite hiatus. The agency also shared that legal action will be taken against malicious content made towards Seunghan.

It also added that Seunghan felt apologetic for the worries he had caused for RIIZE and fandom BRIIZEs due to the content leaked across social media. As a result, RIIZE will continue to promote as six members without Seunghan. 

Read the agency's full statement below:

"Hello. This is SM Entertainment.

We would like to inform everyone regarding RIIZE member Seunghan.

Seunghan sends his sincerest apologies and is regretting the disappointment and confusion he caused to the team, members, and fans due to issues related to his personal life, which were leaked and circulated across social media and online communities.

Consequently, Seunghan felt burdened with responsibility and announced his plan to halt his activities for the group's sake after a deep consideration.

With respect to his opinion that he did not want to cause further damage to the group and members, we also decided that continuing his activities was unreasonable under these circumstances, and this led to the decision to suspend his activities indefinitely.

Starting today (November 22), RIIZE will continue to promote actively as a six-membered group excluding Seunghan.

We ask for your kind understanding, as this was a sudden situation, and this decision was concluded after an in-depth conversation with our artist. We also felt responsible for neglecting the management of our artists even before their debut. We apologize to fans once more.

However, the leaked photos and videos that are circulating without permission were taken during a private time when they were trainees. These were edited numerous times to cause misunderstandings on purpose.

Additionally, the leaker who distributed the videos and photos has continued to commit serious defamation against the artist by spreading fabricated and false information.

These were distributed by using non-existent messenger conversations and other mischievous procedures to produce baseless information.

As soon as we became aware of the mentioned acts, we started monitoring the situation and gathered enough evidence to distinguish the unauthorized leakers. We are planning to file a complaint to the local police station this afternoon.

Furthermore, we are also considering additional legal action against the identified culprit apart from unauthorized dissemination since this also involves cybercrime and intimidation.

Abusive actions such as creating, spreading, amplifying, and reproducing indiscriminate gossip will receive strong legal action without any leniency. We will continue to do our best to protect our artists.

Thank you."

READ MORE: RIIZE Seunghan Caught in Controversial Act in Leaked Video - Is This the End of His Career?

Seunghan has been the center of discussion on multiple threads for "problematic" claims. These instances include netizens having caught the idol allegedly smoking, disrespecting LE SSERAFIM Eunchae, and his past relationship.

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Written by Riely Miller