RIIZE’s Seunghan was removed from the group a couple of days after his return was announced.
The decision was announced by SM Entertainment and Seunghan himself after OT6 fans protested his return and sent wreaths to SM headquarters.
Putting aside the criticism from OT6 fans, the support Seunghan has been receiving from international fans and K-pop stans after his exit is overwhelming.
Since the surprise announcement of his departure on October 13, fans have tirelessly shown their unwavering support for the 21-year-old K-pop sensation.
They are united in their stances and trending hashtags like #BRINGSEUNGHANBACK #SMSUPPORTBULLYING, and #BRINGBACKRII7E. All of these hashtags are currently trending, with each nearing or exceeding 2 million tweets.
To show their support for OT7, they continue to unfollow RIIZE on TikTok, Instagram, X, and Spotify. They have lost 40K+ followers on X, 47K on TikTok, and around 70K on Instagram within 14 hours after the announcement. Moreover, RIIZE has lost around 10K followers on their Japanese social media handles. Plus, RIIZE has lost over 20K+ followers on Spotify as well.
RIIZE experienced a surge in their Spotify and social media following when Seunghan’s return was announced. However, follower count began to decline rapidly after the announcement of his removal.
They continue to boycott SM Entertainment and RIIZE to force the agency to reverse their decision. Fans are furious that the decision was made considering the sentiments of a small group of Korean fans and not international BRIIZE fandom.
They have sent protest trucks to demand SM Entertainment to reverse its decision and bring Seunghan back. Fans are raising money to send more trucks in the coming days and to show their support for him.
SM Entertainment is at the receiving end of intense fan backlash for announcing Seunghan’s exit days after his return. In addition, deleting RIIZE member Wonbin’s letter about Seunghan has further fueled their anger.