Singer-actor Lee Jong Hyun has withdrawn from K-pop band CNBLUE, the group’s company FNC Entertainment announced today (Aug. 28).
The news came several months after Lee was revealed to have been one of several South Korean male entertainers to partake in illicit, sexually degrading chats through which they viewed and shared illegally videos of sexual acts. Previously, FNC issued a statement that said the star, who is currently fulfilling South Korea’s mandatory military draft service, was in a period of reflection for his wrongdoing. But the issue arose again this week after YouTuber Park Min Jung revealed screenshots of a series of direct messages from Lee, received over Instagram, through which he reportedly said he enjoyed watching her YouTube channel and later added that he thought her belly fat was cute, drawing new attention to his inappropriate interactions with and about women.