K-pop stores worldwide stop restocking Riize albums, merch to show solidarity with fans following Seunghan's departure
In an act of solidarity with fans who protest the departure of former Riize member Seunghan, many K-pop stores all over the world have announced that they will be halting restocks of Riize albums and merchandise.
The departure of former Riize member Seunghan from the K-pop group on Oct 13 has sent shockwaves across the K-pop community worldwide – leading to calls to boycott Riize's agency SM Entertainment.
Seunghan's departure came two days after he was reinstated as a member of Riize, following an 11-month-long hiatus. Past photos of Seunghan smoking and kissing a woman, before he debuted as an idol, had been leaked to the public in late 2023 which led to immense backlash from some fans.
At the time, Seunghan opted to pause his activities "for the sake of Riize".
In October 2024, following the announcement that Seunghan would be returning to Riize, fans who were disgruntled by the news expressed their displeasure by sending protest trucks and funeral wreaths – bearing hateful messages and death threats to Seunghan – outside SM Entertainment's headquarters.
As such, Seunghan elected to permanently leave Riize, saying: "I think it is better for everyone if I leave the team. I don't want to cause any more confusion and hurt to the fans. I don't want to cause any more damage to the members and I don't want to cause any more damage to the company."
However, the actions of fans who called for Seunghan's removal – as well as SM Entertainment's handling of the situation – have since received criticism from OT7 Riize fans (fans who support Riize as a group of seven) and the larger international K-pop community.
To protest what they feel is the unjust nature of Seunghan's removal, many OT7 Riize fans have started boycotting SM Entertainment through various means. These include blocking Riize on its social media platforms, not streaming Riize's music, and not buying any albums or merchandise related to Riize.
According to a guide disseminated by an OT7 Riize fan page, the goals of these actions are "to decrease any engagement" and to prevent SM Entertainment from getting any monetary gain.
Many K-pop stores all over the world have since expressed their solidarity with OT7 Riize fans and have temporarily halted restocks of Riize's albums and merchandise. One of these stores is US-based retailer SubK Shop – a sister company of SubKulture Entertainment which has previously worked with SM Entertainment on past tours for its artistes.
In its statement, SubK Shop said that the halting "was out of respect for [their] customers, fans and [Riize]".
K-pop stores in Singapore such as Krmerch, House Of Kpop and Infinity Kpop have also taken a similar stand – with Kmerch even writing "Justice for Seunghan" in its statement.
Instead, most of these stores will only sell their existing Riize inventory and pre-purchased items that have not been fulfilled.
SM Entertainment has since announced that it would take legal action against hateful posts directed towards Riize and Seunghan – who is still an artiste under the company.
It said that it has collected "a significant amount of evidence" and will firmly respond without leniency.