Yong Junhyung is exiting from South Korean boy band Highlight.
Following the recent chatroom scandal, Yong Junhyung took to Instagram to expressed his apologies for his participation in the scandal.
In the post, Yong Junhyung shared,“I did not receive a video [from Jung Joon Young] at the time, but I did receive a video at a different instance. In addition, I participated in inappropriate conversations regarding it. All of these actions were very immoral, and I was foolish. I treated it as not a big deal without thinking that it is a crime and illegal act, and it is also my fault for not firmly restraining.”
Yong Junhyung ended the post with the announcement of his departure from the group, noting, “I do not want any further harm to be done to my fans and members who must have been disappointed because of me, so I will leave the group Highlight as of 14th March 2019. I will live while reflecting on myself again and again. I once again apologise sincerely.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/Buvbr4bl009/
The announcement came after the SBS’s “8 O’Clock News” investigation on the incident on 11th March. Participants of the scandal were accused of sharing illegal videos and photos. While investigating the matter, the network displayed an exchange of text messages in a chatroom as evidence.
One particular member of the chat group stood out, named “Singer Yong”. This immediately sparked speculations of Yong Junhyung’s involvement, in which Yong Junhyung’s agency denied. In their statement, the agency clarified that while Yong Junhyung and singer, Jung Joon Young (another participant involved in the scandal) are good friends, they were never in a group chatroom together.
Their conversation only took place individually in 2016, in which Yong Junhyung simply asked of Jung Joon Young’s mental state as he notice Joon Young was going through a difficult time. Joon Young replied that he was caught red handed for taking a video and sending it to friends.
