Choi Seung Hyun, “I Was Not in My Right Mind on SNS, I‘m Sorry to the BIGBANG Members and Fans” [DA: Interview ③]

Actor Choi Seung Hyun (TOP), formerly of group BIGBANG, apologized to the BIGBANG members and VIP (fandom).

In an interview for the second season of the Netflix series ‘Squid Game’, held at a cafe in Jongno-gu, Seoul at 10 AM on the 15th, Choi Seung Hyun said, “I caused great hurt and disappointment to my beloved family due to my mistake, and I also caused harm to the BIGBANG members.” He continued, “In my 20s, I enjoyed great glory and received excessive love, but the process of fall and downfall was a path I had never been on before, so I went through a very dark time. I was broken at the time, and I didn’t have the strength to get back up, so I wanted to give up on everything.”

He confessed, “In the midst of that, my heart ached when I saw some of the fans waiting for my comeback. The only way to communicate was through social media, and at the time, I was so dark that I carelessly lost my judgment. I deeply reflect on and am ashamed of the things I foolishly said,” he said, apologizing, saying, “I wasn’t in my right mind at the time. I regret why I said that. I will reflect on this for the rest of my life.”

Choi Seung-hyun was sentenced to 10 months in prison and 2 years of probation in July 2017 for smoking marijuana. He was forcibly discharged from the military police after being deemed unfit for re-service after his re-enlistment review, and later completed his alternative service as a social service agent. After that, he did not engage in any other entertainment activities and continued his activities on his own in the social media world.

In 2019, when a netizen left a comment on social media saying, “Do some self-reflection. Don’t use social media. And don’t come back,” Choi Seung-hyun directly replied, “Yes! I have no intention of doing it either. Just look at pictures of animals.” In 2020, he said on a live SNS broadcast, ”I won‘t make a comeback in Korea. I don’t want to make a comeback at all. If I do this, another article will come out, so someone next to me is stopping me. Please don‘t write articles about people who don’t have any thoughts.“ He also appealed, ”People are so mean. I wish I could find love.“

After that, Choi Seung-hyun seemed to be taking steps unrelated to the entertainment industry, such as participating in the wine business and the first civilian moon flight project. In May 2023, he officially announced his withdrawal from Big Bang, confessing, ”I already said I was leaving. Since last year, I‘ve been facing a new chapter in my life.“ While doing so, he clearly drew a line by marking an X (exaggeration) with the word ”Big Bang“ in the captured image of an article that referred to him as ”Big Bang T.O.P.“


Choi Seung Hyun also expressed his apologies to the members of Big Bang in this interview, while completely shutting down the possibility of a reunion. He said, ”To be completely honest, I caused great damage to the team called Big Bang and my former company (YG Entertainment) because of my mistakes. That’s why I said several years ago that I would leave the team with the thought that I “couldn‘t cause any more damage to the agency and the members.” Now, I have to endure doing things on my own and pursuing them in the future, but if I go back to the team that I caused harm to, the members will also be labeled with the label of my mistakes, so I feel ashamed. It’s been a long time since I said I was going to leave because I was in pain, but when I saw fans who wanted a reunion writing posts like that, even I felt heartbroken,“ he confessed.

He confessed, ”I wanted to make it clear for myself, but as I‘m meeting reporters for the first time in 11 years and telling you, I had no outlet to share it. I felt guilty when I looked at the photos of the members, and as someone who left the group, it felt like looking at a family photo I had left. The pain and suffering cannot be described unless you’re the one involved. I think the expression was reckless, but that wasn‘t what I meant.“

Choi Seung-hyun said that he had already expressed his intention to leave the group when he was discharged after completing his alternative service as a social worker. When asked, ”Didn’t the members of Big Bang try to dissuade me?“ he said, ”That‘s an ambiguous answer. I think it would be reckless for me to talk about members or people who aren’t here.“ He also said that he currently has no contact with the members of Big Bang, adding, ”I feel ashamed. Even I still feel so sorry that I can‘t contact them right away. I think I need to calm down a little,“ he said.

As a member of BIGBANG, he ended his activities with BIGBANG’s ‘Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter (Still Life)’ in 2022. He said, ”I thought of it as my last project as BIGBANG, so I worked hard. Some fans still want a reunion and have hope. When I saw that, I felt heartbroken rather than angry,“ and said, ”There were many photos of me and the members tagged together on SNS. I will live my life feeling sorry toward the members. I bow my head once again and deeply apologize for using the wrong expression.“

Regarding the argument with netizens on SNS, he said, ”There were people who were not fans but maliciously leaving malicious comments. To be honest, I was in the dark at the time and wasn‘t in my right mind. I was so reckless. Even thinking about it now, it still hurts my heart. I regret it,” he said, admitting his mistake. Choi Seung-hyun nodded several times, vowing not to express himself in an immature way like before.

Meanwhile, Season 2 of ‘Squid Game’, which Choi Seung-hyun appeared in, is a story about the fierce confrontation between ‘Ki-hoon’ (Lee Jung-jae), who vows revenge and returns to the game, and ‘Frontman’ (Lee Byung-hun) who greets him, and the real game starting again. He gave a passionate performance as Thanos, a drug dealer who started out as a rapper.

Jung Hee-yeon, Donga.com reporter shine2562@donga.com
Photo｜THE SEED