[Sports Chosun Reporter Kim So-hee] Sunwoo of the group The Boyz, who was embroiled in a character controversy, finally bowed his head.
On the 14th, Sunwoo posted a lengthy apology on his official SNS account.
Firstly, Sunwoo explained the reason for the delayed apology, saying, “I am sorry for the delay as I was contemplating and thinking about how I could express my honest thoughts and feelings appropriately, and whether I was writing something insincere.”
He continued, “I’ve been incessantly reflecting on my words and behavior,” and added, “The intent of the message I wanted to convey was distorted due to my personal thoughts and irrational words and actions. I want to apologize for the lack of attention to my behavior, which could have led those who accepted it to feel a certain way, even though I had no such intention.”
Then, he emphasized, “This is absolutely not a statement to simply pass over the current situation. Since I was lacking, I couldn’t respond maturely from the beginning, and my attempts to shield myself from excessive criticism caused harm to many people.”
Sunwoo also mentioned, “It wasn’t my intention to seek forgiveness or express injustice, but if someone saw me that way, I must first acknowledge that I could have been perceived as that kind of person. From now on, I will take the time to prove to everyone and myself that I am not that kind of person and that I value relationships and feelings between people as truly precious and important.”
Lastly, he expressed, “I hope this message conveys, without any misunderstanding, my apology to those who criticized my lack of judgment and maturity, those who felt uncomfortable and hurt by my actions, and all the people around me who have loved me.”
Previously, a video posted on an online community showed Sunwoo shouting “My AirPods!” loudly when he dropped them while getting into an elevator after a radio broadcast. A bodyguard picked them up and handed them to him. Following this, Nana commented, “He needs to be scolded,” and further commented with “If you see one, you know ten,” escalating the issue.
Sunwoo later spoke out on a fan platform about the controversy, expressing his frustration by saying, “Would I shout at a bodyguard to pick up my AirPods in front of fans?” despite never doing such a thing even in private, adding, “I need to talk about it because it feels like it’s festering if I don’t.”
On April 13, Sunwoo’s agency 100 issued a public apology stating, “We deeply apologize for not properly managing the issue concerning our artist’s character. We are fully aware that Sunwoo’s depiction in the video might have triggered controversy regarding his character. Sunwoo was also calmly reflecting on the matter after communicating with us.”
The company added, “It’s regrettable that the situation is unfolding contrary to the direction of our and the artist’s reflections. We regret not being more proactive in managing the issue before it occurred and that the artist acted carelessly.”
Furthermore, the agency stated, “All our company’s artists should be managed while being protected by the company. The controversy over Sunwoo’s character is entirely the company’s oversight, and the artist is also reflecting on aspects he did not recognize before. We at 100 will do our utmost, based on communication with our artists, to ensure such oversights do not recur. We apologize once again.”
They also noted, “Regarding the baseless malicious comments arising from this incident, we are preparing strong legal responses for the protection of the artist.”
Here is Sunwoo’s full apology:
Hello, this is Sunwoo from The Boyz.
I apologize for the delayed response as I have been contemplating and thinking about how my honest thoughts and feelings could be properly communicated, and also questioning whether I’m writing something that isn’t sincere.
I imagine that you are likely very tired. I have been relentlessly reflecting on my words and actions.
Due to my personal thoughts and irrational words and actions, I altered the intention of what I wanted to convey, and despite having no such intent, my lack of attention to my behavior could lead those who received it to feel a certain way, which I am truly sorry for.
This statement is absolutely not meant to simply pass over the current situation. In my immaturity, I failed to initially respond in a mature way, and my attempts to defend against excessive criticism ended up hurting many people.
It’s not about seeking forgiveness or expressing injustice, but rather acknowledging that if anyone saw me in that light, I might actually have been that kind of person. And in the future, I will take the time to prove to everyone and myself that I am not that kind of person and that I truly value and consider human relationships and emotions precious and important.
Lastly, I hope this message conveys, without any misunderstanding, my apology to those who have criticized my lack of judgment and maturity, those who felt discomfort and were hurt by my actions, and everyone around me who has loved me.
Once again, I sincerely apologize to everyone who felt discomfort and was hurt due to my immature responses.
I also apologize deeply to the fan club, The B, who have loved me so much.
Sincerely, Sunwoo.