Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
Former BEAST/Highlight member Yong Junhyung has been back in the spotlight recently due to his relationship with HyunA and his connection to the Burning Sun scandal through Jung Joon Young.
Back in 2019, he had admitted to and apologized for receiving and watching an illegal video footage from Jung Joon Young and making inappropriate conversation about it, but denied any involvement in the chatrooms. A bystander, basically. Then in 2022 when he returned to the industry, he addressed and apologized again for his involvement. Now, I suppose given the reemergence of the issue following a documentary on it and the backlash HyunA has received, he decided to speak up again on Instagram. He again clarifies his role and talks about reflecting over it, and it’s probably best just to post the whole thing in full:
“Hello, this is Yong Junhyung.
Back then, I was undoubtedly foolish and made mistakes. I couldn’t correct the wrong situation, and amid heated criticism without knowing what the right choice was, I was fearful and did not want to cause harm to the company and members because of me, so I made the choice to leave the group with the determination to lose everything from the place that was everything to me for years.
I clicked on the video showing a black screen that was sent through a personal chat without any description, and before clicking it, I had no way to know what it was or what the intention was. After this, I could have said, ‘Stop, this is wrong,’ but I couldn’t become the person who can say this, and I just shrugged it off.
However, as I explained then and appealed even afterwards, I never joined that certain group chat room nor was involved in the incident where despicable things that I don’t even want to speak of happened.
For years, many media outlets and people have repeatedly labeled me as one of the figures involved in that incident stating that I was a member of the chat room and that I consumed illegal footage. I spoke about the parts that were not true, but to everyone and in every article, I became the same kind of person as those people with whom I have nothing to do with.
I wasn’t confident enough to bring up past events again myself, and with just the thought of, ‘It will pass,’ I spent time ignoring [the situation] without working up the courage.
Even if I get hurt or scarred, I will endure and get through them. Please… I sincerely ask that my family and the people I love and cherish as well as those watching me despite my shortcomings including fans not be hurt.
To all of you, and to many journalists, I will strive every day to deeply reflect on the aspects that I couldn’t correct in the past and the foolish actions and remarks in order to become a mature person.
Thank you for reading this unorganized long post.
It seems that it is easy to catch a nasty cold in hot summer.
Please take care of your health, and have a happy day!”
Honestly, seems like the main thing he wanted to clarify was his role in the scandal, which is that he was more of a bystander and not an active participant. Based on all reporting done, that appears to be true and it’s understandable that he’d want to clarify that. However, while I get that it’s his third time addressing this, I probably would’ve continued to be more apologetic in tone given the enormity of the scandal he’s connected with. And as I mentioned even back in 2019, it’s weird that none of the apologies seem to mention the victims.
Anyway, as I always say when it comes to moral judgments, it’s up to the individual to decide on what his continued level of responsibility should be and the level of forgiveness (if any) they grant him, and really even whether they believe that was the extent of his involvement. But since things do get distorted on social media for better or worse, at least getting an accurate recounting of events to judge with seems useful to have.
