An anonymous netizen, claiming to be a former classmate and friend of RIIZE's Seunghan, uploaded a post that was subsequently deleted.

On an online forum, a netizen shared a screenshot of a lengthy message originally posted and then removed by another individual on December 24. The content of this message sought to defend Seunghan amidst the recent controversy that led to his indefinite hiatus from the group's activities.

The full deleted post reads as follows:

"Hello. I am a friend of Seunghan since our school days, and I've been watching over him since his trainee days. I've been contemplating when to write this, but I felt it's better to write it now, after some time has passed since the incident, so that those who read this can view the situation with a somewhat objective perspective. Those who believe in this, please do so freely, and for those who do not wish to believe, it's okay to skip over.

During our school days, Seunghan got along really well with classmates and was a kind and diligent friend who would readily strike up conversations with even the introverted ones. Even the teachers liked Seunghan because of his respectful demeanor. Despite the exhaustion from practicing until late at night, he was so lively and sociable that he would enthusiastically join the other kids in playing soccer. He was well-liked by everyone, regardless of gender. Even though he had relatively less time to meet school friends due to practice after school, he still had great chemistry with his school friends. And, whenever he got bored, he would even draw portraits (?) for his friends, proving just how pure he was as a student.

However, after becoming an adult this year, I believe that Seunghan, who should have been more cautious with his debut approaching, acted somewhat recklessly. Nevertheless, it's truly disheartening to see the malice of those who are trying to bring down someone who is still young with various manipulative rumors and concentrated fabrications.

I'm saddened that, due to a momentary lapse in judgment, Seunghan's personality and actions, which were polite and respectful in the past, are now being collectively disparaged. Especially knowing how hard he worked during his long trainee period, it has been heartbreaking to see all that effort seemingly go to waste in an instant after this incident.

I have faith that the Seunghan I know would reflect on his recklessness, as he is truly deep-thinking and caring towards people around him. However, even though some time has passed, I still find it difficult to ask him about his well-being, fearing that he may have been deeply hurt. I would like to clarify that this message is not intended to impose any judgment on Seunghan or to make anyone view him in a certain way. I just hope that, even if only slightly, the perspective on Seunghan can be less biased. Thank you for reading this lengthy and somewhat disorganized message."

Despite the intriguing nature of this post, netizens continue to express their doubt and confusion about the situation. Some question its authenticity, suggesting that it could have been posted by SM Entertainment employees or even Seunghan himself, noting that it lacks concrete evidence.

Meanwhile, comments under the post show both skepticism and support for Seunghan. Upvoted reactions include statements expressing understanding for the original disseminator's motives, doubts about the circumstances surrounding the post, and sympathy for Seunghan.

Reactions include:

"I understand that the original disseminator was wrong in many ways, but it is also true that Seunghan has engaged in some wrongdoings. It's true that he smoked in the streets in Japan as an underage person, and even though he knew that he was a public figure already as a trainee in Korea, he went to a motel and carelessly had an unflattering photo taken. I'm not sure if he was in his right mind when doing an (IG) live, even if he wanted to use an unofficial account."

"I can't believe this person posted it on Pann, lol, and not a separate social media account. Who knows if this person is his close personal friend, an employee of SM, or even Seunghan himself, lol. Even the rhetoric of this person is similar to the ones upvoting and leaving comments on these types of posts."

"Employees, you are working too hard in the wee hours of the night"

"I can't believe companies are still trying to make this work, lol. Are we that easy?"

"I am so curious about the original disseminator of the footage, though. I can't believe they secretly saved all those footages and unveiled them after his debut... I definitely think that some people were deliberately trying to bring him down."

"I can tell from this post that the former classmate was really sad about Seunghan's past footage being unfairly made public, which led to his halting activities. It's not really valid if the person in question wasn't consulted before making certain footage public. We shouldn't forget that Seunghan himself is also a victim in the first place. It wasn't such a grave mistake for him to halt his activities. I am just so disappointed in the company for handling the situation poorly. They just made Seunghan write an apology letter, even though he was a victim himself. This didn't warrant him being in the news for some social behavior. I hope that he returns to the stage as part of RIIZE soon."

What are your thoughts?