After launching a fundraiser last week, fans of K-pop star Wonho (Lee Ho-seok) have placed a billboard in Times Square calling for his reinstatement in boy band Monsta X.
"We shine brighter as a family," reads the billboard, along with the names of Monsta X’s members, the group’s name and a photo of the act as a seven-member team. It began running Wednesday (Nov. 6) and will run 30 times an hour for 15 seconds all day, aside from 2-5 a.m. ET when the sign does not operate.
The digital billboard was crowdfunded by Monsta X’s fans, known collectively as Monbebe, following the departure of Wonho from the team last week amid a series of allegations regarding his actions prior to the group’s start in 2015. Fans of the act have been campaigning for his return to the team on social media since last Thursday, and various hashtags of support have regularly trended worldwide on Twitter. Despite the outpouring of support, the group has moved forward as a six member act while promoting new single "Follow" in Korean media.
The Times Square billboard was organized by Carter Lee, known as Kihbebes on Twitter, who started a GoFundMe campaign last Friday and rapidly raised more than $20,000. Since then, the fund has topped $25,000.