Park Jun Hwan has officially stepped down from IDID, the upcoming boy group under Starship Entertainment, after a wave of controversy surrounding his personal life.
Starship Entertainment shared the news on June 2, explaining that Jun Hwan’s departure is linked to intense online rumors and malicious comments. “Due to groundless rumors, malicious slander, and continuous malicious comments, Park Jun Hwan, who is a minor, has been experiencing severe psychological distress. Recently, the situation worsened to the point where it significantly interfered with his daily life,” the agency said.
They added that while they’ve been helping him get professional support, “as he seriously conveyed his intention to step down from group activities, we respected his wishes and decided to allow him sufficient time to rest.”
Earlier in the statement, the agency strongly denied the rumors. “The rumors recently circulating online about Park Jun Hwan are completely false. We have unequivocally confirmed, through his full academic records and statements from school officials, that Park Jun Hwan was a diligent and responsible student.”
They also shared that the so-called “classmate” accounts spreading false claims turned out to be fake. “We also confirmed activity from accounts posing as classmates in anonymous open chat rooms and communities, and we secured objective evidence to determine these to be impersonations.”
In light of everything, Starship said, “We will continue to provide unstinting support so that Park Jun Hwan can recover his health through sufficient rest and restart his journey toward new dreams, not as an IDID member.”
Alongside the agency’s announcement, they also shared an apology letter from “A,” the person behind the rumors. “I falsely spoke about unconfirmed stories as if they were true and carelessly used expressions implying Park Jun Hwan’s private life, causing significant damage to his reputation and image.”
IDID, which was originally planned as an 8-member group from Starship’s “Debut’s Plan” project, was supposed to officially debut later this year. But with the controversy surrounding Jun Hwan, fans have raised concerns about how this might affect the team as a whole.
