RIIZE member Seunghan suffered because of HYBE? Fresh reports hint at negative media play

The furore over the departure of Seunghan from RIIZE is yet to die down. The 21-year-old idol was brought back into the boy band after a hiatus of ten months. But antis and some deranged fans created a huge stir. This was because of Seunghan’s past. Some pics of him had been leaked where he was seen smoking, kissing and cuddling a girl who was his apparent girlfriend during his trainee days. As we know, idols are not supposed to date in Korea. They prefer someone who is completely single. This led to a shocking protest that got global attention. 

Funeral wreaths were placed outside SM Entertainment with messages that read it would be better if Seunghan was dead. This was extremely distressing and angered international fans of RIIZE. Things got worse when SM Entertainment decided to remove him from the band. People felt they set a bad precedent cowing down in front of literal bullies. The foreign fans have called for a boycott of albums and so on. In the middle of all this, some reports have come that HYBE allegedly indulged in negative media play. 

The internal audit of HYBE was done during the National Assembly matter. Hanni of New Jeans spoke about workplace bullying. In the audit, there were some documents that hinted at negative media play to be used against rival companies. Some of the bands mentioned were RIIZE, NMIXX and Aespa. People are wondering if they had a hand in spreading the Seunghan matter as soon as he returned. 

We have to see if this matter moves further. HYBE has denied charges saying most of the matter was what was spoken in online communities. They said it does not reflect their views on idols and rivals.