SM Entertainment promises legal action against malicious posts targeting RIIZE and Sunghwan, ensuring their protection from defamation.

SM Entertainment (hereinafter, SM) has promised protection for RIIZE and Sunghwan, who has left the group. Today (17th), SM announced two official comments regarding the progress of legal actions related to the infringement of rights of its artists, RIIZE and Sunghwan. First, SM stated, 'So far, through information provided by fans and monitoring, we have been collecting malicious posts and comments including threats, defamation, and insults against RIIZE members, and we are focusing on suing those who continue to spread false facts on specific platforms.' They also informed that some individuals who created false facts by impersonating acquaintances of RIIZE members through Instagram have been identified, and some have been sent to the prosecution. Furthermore, they emphasized, 'We are responding strongly in principle, and we will provide updates on the progress of the relevant incidents in the future.' Regarding Sunghwan, they stated, 'Since his debut, we have been continuously monitoring malicious posts and comments against Sunghwan, including false facts, personal attacks, insults, and defamation, and we have already collected a considerable amount of evidence and are proceeding with lawsuits against various illegal acts. We would like to remind you once again that creating false facts that defame the artist's character and honor by impersonating acquaintances on social media, and maliciously reproducing and indiscriminately spreading such false facts is a clear criminal act.' They warned that fabricating unfounded content or creating malicious rumors based on unverified facts not only defames character and honor but also generating malicious content by synthesizing and editing the artist's image is a clear illegal act. SM will continue to take strong measures against those who post malicious content about RIIZE on platforms like Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube, and they reiterated that there will be no agreements or leniency regarding such illegal acts, urging fans to avoid suspicious matters. They expressed heartfelt gratitude to fans who continuously provide support and interest in RIIZE. Thank you. [Full official comment from SM Entertainment regarding RIIZE] Hello, this is SM Entertainment. We would like to inform you about the progress of legal actions regarding the infringement of rights of our artists, RIIZE (Shotaro, Eunseok, Seongchan, Wonbin, Sohee, Anton). So far, through information provided by fans and monitoring, we have been collecting malicious posts and comments including threats, defamation, and insults against RIIZE members, and we are focusing on suing those who continue to spread false facts on specific platforms. In particular, we would like to inform you that some individuals who created false facts by impersonating acquaintances of RIIZE members through Instagram have been identified, and some have been sent to the prosecution. In response, we are taking a strong stance as per our principles, and we will provide updates on the progress of the relevant incidents in the future. Fabricating unfounded content or creating malicious rumors based on unverified facts not only defames character and honor but also generating malicious content by synthesizing and editing the artist's image is a clear illegal act. We will continue to take strong measures against those who post malicious content about RIIZE, both domestically and internationally, and we reiterate that we will respond without agreements or leniency regarding such illegal acts. Please be cautious not to get involved in suspicious matters. We sincerely thank the fans who always send generous support and interest to RIIZE. Thank you. [Full official comment from SM Entertainment regarding Sunghwan] Hello, this is SM Entertainment. We would like to inform you about the legal actions related to the infringement of rights of our artist Sunghwan. Since his debut, we have been continuously monitoring malicious posts and comments against Sunghwan, including false facts, personal attacks, insults, and defamation, and we have already collected a considerable amount of evidence and are proceeding with lawsuits against various illegal acts. We would like to remind you once again that creating false facts that defame the artist's character and honor by impersonating acquaintances on social media, and maliciously reproducing and indiscriminately spreading such false facts is a clear criminal act. We will respond immediately to any confirmed illegal acts related to Sunghwan, and we will continue to take a strong stance without agreements or leniency. We thank the fans who support Sunghwan and will continue to do our best to protect our artists. Thank you.