On October 25, an online community called Instiz published a post titled “Choi Min-hwan’s fan chat room when Choi Jong-hoon was involved in the scorching sun scandal.“
The post included screenshots of what appears to be an FT Island fan’s X (formerly Twitter) account. The images captured Choi Min-hwan’s responses via KakaoTalk messages regarding former FT Island member Choi Jong-hoon’s involvement in the affair. “Group Chat Jung Joon-young” following the Burning Sun scandal.
In his messages, Choi Min-hwan said: “No need to worry about this problem, everything is fine,” and added, “It’s not really a big deal, but the news articles are coming out in a sensational way, which worries me too.” He continued, “Whether it’s Burning Sun or whatever, I’ve never been there, and it’s really frustrating to see my name mentioned in the headlines,” AND “There’s no need to blow up something that’s not even a big deal.”
At the time, these messages were interpreted as Choi Min-hwan’s attempt to reassure fans by explaining his lack of connection to Burning Sun or the group chat incidents. However, following the October 24 release of audio recordings by his ex-wife Yulhee, which revealed evidence of Minhwan visiting adult entertainment establishments and attempting to solicit prostitution, these messages are now being interpreted differently .
The Twitter account that shared Minhwan’s messages wrote: “I deeply regret that I was the first to write to you carefully in the chat room because I was worried when the news broke.”
Additionally, Minhwan faces charges of involvement in registering false addresses after lending his home address to Choi Jong-hoon, who was kicked out of the entertainment industry following the Burning Sun scandal and sexual assault cases of group. According to the Korean Sunday News, Choi Jong-hoon used Choi Min-hwan’s home address for about a year in 2018, although it was later revealed that Choi Jong-hoon never actually resided there.
Regarding these allegations, Choi Min-hwan responded through an associate, saying: “It’s true that I lent him my address, but I didn’t think it would be problematic” AND “I understand he left after about a year, and Choi Min-hwan forgot to give the address.”
On October 24, Yulhee exposed Choi Min-hwan’s misconduct during their wedding through a YouTube video. According to Yulhee, Minhwan allegedly touched her body parts inappropriately and inserted folded money into her chest while her family was present at home.
Additionally, Yulhee released numerous audio recordings of Choi Min-hwan from July and August 2022. The recordings, which caused significant shock, contained content of Choi Min-hwan waiting and seeking adult services.
In response, Choi Min-hwan’s agency FNC Entertainment apologized on October 25, stating: “Minhwan will stop all media activities, including broadcasts in which he appears with his children.” The production team of KBS2’s variety show “The Return of Superman” he also announced “We have decided to remove Choi Min-hwan from the show. There is no pre-recorded content.
Currently, Choi Min-hwan is in Taiwan for a show, and FNC Entertainment will review his participation in the upcoming FT Island concerts with the event organizers.
Source: Daum
