Seunghan #

Introduction #

Seunghan, born Hong Seung-han on October 2, 2003, is a South Korean singer who debuted in September 2023 as a member of the boy band RIIZE under SM Entertainment. Roughly two months after the group’s debut, he was placed on an indefinite hiatus when pre-debut photos from his private life spread online, and he never performed with the group again. When SM Entertainment announced his return to the band in October 2024, a segment of the group’s South Korean fanbase responded by staging outdoor protests and sending approximately 1,000 funeral wreaths to the company’s Seoul headquarters, funeral wreaths being a recognized protest gesture in South Korea. Two days after announcing his return, the company reversed course and announced his permanent departure from the group, and international fans subsequently organized boycotts in support of him. He returned to music in 2025 as a solo artist under the stylized stage name XngHan.

Background Information #

Seunghan was born on October 2, 2003, in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, and trained at the School of Performing Arts Seoul before joining SM Entertainment’s pre-debut idol training team, SM Rookies, where he was first introduced in July 2022. He was officially introduced as a member of RIIZE on August 1, 2023, and the seven-member group made its official debut on September 4, 2023, with the single album “Get a Guitar,” which reportedly sold more than a million copies in its first week. The group’s follow-up single, “Talk Saxy,” was released on October 27, 2023, weeks before the controversy that would remove him from the lineup.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation #

In November 2023, private material from before Seunghan’s debut circulated online after being leaked. Reporting at the time described leaked pre-debut photographs that showed him kissing a woman in a bed and smoking a cigarette; press accounts also noted images showing him spending time with a girlfriend. SM Entertainment characterized the leaked photos as “severe defamation” and said some had been maliciously edited, and the company stated that it had identified the source of the leak and would pursue legal proceedings against them. On November 22, 2023, the company announced that Seunghan would take an indefinite hiatus from the group, saying in a statement that he felt “mental pressure and responsibility” and that, respecting his wish not to cause further harm to the team and members, it had decided on the indefinite suspension of his activities. Seunghan issued a hand-written apology letter to fans at the same time. During the hiatus, SM Entertainment was criticized for its silence, and in April 2024 the release of the full-length version of the song “Siren” drew further criticism because Seunghan’s vocals had been removed and re-recorded by other members.

Public Reaction and Consequences #

On October 11, 2024, SM Entertainment announced on the group’s official social media that Seunghan would return to group activities after a hiatus of nearly 11 months, with the statement saying the company had “determined that RIIZE’s next chapter would be even more meaningful if the seven members were together.” The reaction was sharply divided. Within hours, protests were organized, mostly by South Korean fans who felt he had betrayed fans’ trust and damaged the group’s reputation, and that evening funeral wreaths began appearing on the plaza outside SM Entertainment’s Seoul headquarters, with media outlets reporting more than 1,000 wreaths bearing messages such as “soul of the deceased, rest in peace” and “out with Seunghan,” alongside hashtags demanding his removal and calling for the group to exist as six members. Some fans also sent death threats to the singer. International fans, by contrast, largely welcomed his return, arguing that the nearly year-long hiatus had been unfair punishment. Two days after the return announcement, on October 13, 2024, the group’s management, SM Entertainment’s Wizard Production division, announced that Seunghan would be leaving RIIZE permanently, citing the fan response, apologizing for “causing confusion,” and saying it had “realized that our decision had actually hurt fans.” Seunghan posted a hand-written letter on the fan platform Weverse, writing that he did not want to cause any more hurt or confusion for the fans or harm the members and the company further, and that he believed his leaving the group was “the right path for everyone.” His departure reduced RIIZE to six members. In the aftermath, international fans mobilized in his support, trending hashtags such as #JUSTICE_FOR_SEUNGHAN and, according to StyleCaster’s reporting, organizing a petition titled “We want seunghan back! Riize is 7” that gathered over 150,000 signatures.

Current Status #

Seunghan is no longer a member of RIIZE, which continues as a six-member group, but he remains signed to SM Entertainment and has resumed his career as a solo artist. In November 2024, the company announced that he was preparing a solo debut, and in June 2025 outlets reported that the debut was scheduled for July. His stage name was restyled as “XngHan,” a change the company said signified “infinite potential and crossover,” and he launched a project called XngHan & Xoul alongside two professional dancers. His debut solo single album, “Waste No Time,” was released on July 31, 2025.

Impact on Their Career/Life #

The leaked-photos controversy and the surrounding fan backlash ended Seunghan’s tenure in RIIZE after barely two months of group activity, cost him his vocals on the group’s re-released music, and kept him off the public stage for nearly a year. The funeral-wreath protest campaign and reported death threats drew international attention to the intensity of parasocial fan culture in the K-pop industry, with coverage debating whether his treatment constituted disproportionate punishment for conduct from before his debut. SM Entertainment’s reversal also drew criticism from fans and commentators who argued the company had yielded to a vocal minority at the expense of the artist, and the episode became a widely cited example of fan pressure directly reshaping a group’s lineup. His 2025 solo debut under the XngHan name marked a return to performing, though as a soloist rather than a member of the group that originally launched his career.