Wonbin Issues Personal Statement Addressing Seunghan’s Return To RIIZE Amid Severe K-Fans Backlash

RIIZE’s Wonbin has taken to Weverse to address fans’ concerns after Seunghan was re-added to the group!

On October 13, Wonbin took to Weverse to share a handwritten letter to fans. In the letter, he clarifies what happened behind the scenes and reveals that they’ve thought long and hard about Seunghan’s future in the group.

In his statement he also apologies to fans. This comes after k-fans severe opposition to Seunghan’s return to the group. Some fans sent over 1000 flower wreaths to SM’s building asking for his withdrawal and are reportedly planning to do even more in the near future.

Read Wonbin’s letter below!

Briize! I don’t know where to start, but I’m going to try to muster up the courage to say what I want to say to Briize.
Even at this moment as I’m writing this, I’m being careful and worried about what Briize will think when this message goes up, but I thought it might be even more confusing and difficult if our members’ thoughts or responses are not shared, so I’ve gathered the things we talked about with the members and decided to write this.
During this time, Briize must have naturally wondered whether Seunghan is coming back or not, and why a definite answer wasn’t given sooner.
We, too, have had many conversations with Seunghan and the company over a really long period of time.
I just want you to know that the members thought together, thought again, and deeply discussed everything.
I always wanted to make all Briizes happy, but I feel like I couldn’t, and for that, I’m sorry…
I know this message won’t completely ease Briize’s worries, but I hope it can provide even a little comfort to your confused hearts.
There is no RIIZE without Briize. As I always say, I want to keep creating good memories with Briize and see you all for a long, long time.
So, if you can continue to look at us warmly and support us like you’ve done until now, it would be a huge strength for us.
I promise that we will continue to do our best so that RIIZE can be a source of pride for Briize without changing.

Wonbin’s letter garnered mixed reactions at best, on the international side, many are sympathetic and happy to hear Wonbin standing up for Seunghan while on the Korean side, many are blaming SM for ‘using’ Wonbin to clarify what happened when they should be responding to the rumors themselves.

On the 11th, Seunghan posted a handwritten letter on the fan communication platform Weverse. In the letter, he expressed regret, stating, “When the pre-debut photos were revealed, I was disappointed in myself and felt regret. During that time, the members reached out to me again. It must have been a difficult decision for them, and I’m only filled with gratitude and guilt.”

Around the same time, SM Entertainment issued an official statement, saying, “Seunghan has acknowledged that his past actions were wrong and took nearly a year off from activities. After thorough discussions, we concluded that the next chapter of RIIZE, which we had meticulously planned since before debut, will be most meaningful with all seven members together, and thus we decided on Seunghan’s return to the team.”

What do you think of this?