'RIIZE' member Seunghan (real name Hong Seunghan, 21) is making his return to the group. This marks his comeback after nearly a year of being inactive.

On October 11, SM Entertainment announced Seunghan's return, stating, "After several discussions with staff and the members, it has been decided that Seunghan will rejoin the group."

SM emphasized that 'RIIZE' is made up of seven members. "We believe the next chapter of 'RIIZE', which has been carefully planned since before debut, will be more meaningful with all seven members together."

Seunghan will rejoin 'RIIZE' and spend some time preparing. He is expected to gradually participate in some of the team’s scheduled activities starting in November.

SM explained, "Even during his hiatus, Seunghan has been working hard to improve his skills. There is still much more he will show in the future, and we ask for your warm support."

The company added, "'RIIZE' is a team that grows and achieves their dreams together. We hope you trust our decision to showcase 'RIIZE' as a seven-member group."

'RIIZE' debuted on September 4 of last year, originally as a seven-member group, including Seunghan. However, controversies surrounding Seunghan began even before the debut.

Someone leaked photos of Seunghan’s past private life online. Two months later, edited versions of his private live streams from his trainee days were also circulated.

SM stated, "The unauthorized distribution was followed by intentional re-editing and misrepresentation, leading to misunderstandings. There were no actual messenger conversations involved. These were baseless falsehoods fabricated by malicious editing."

Despite the company's explanation, the controversy did not die down. Eventually, on November 22 of last year, Seunghan decided to halt his activities, expressing, "I don’t want to cause any more harm to the team and the members." This decision came just 79 days after his debut.