According to Korean media, the "retirement" announcement once made by stars who are in the eye of a scandal storm, choked up, seems to be losing weight.
Many celebrities who officially left the entertainment industry after serious social scandals are quietly preparing for their return after a short period of self-criticism.
Despite outrage over being accused of deceiving the public as well as the severity of past behaviors, these stars are shifting to foreign markets and global platforms to overcome domestic limitations, making their decision to change positions continue to be scrutinized.
The most typical example is actor and singer Park Yoo Chun - former member of JYJ group. In 2019, before being prosecuted and detained for using banned substances, he held an emergency press conference, firmly affirming that he was innocent. He declared: "If I use drugs, I will retire from the entertainment industry".
However, this affirmation was quickly exposed as a lie and he was sentenced to 10 months in prison but given a suspended sentence for 2 years.
After that, he appeared in a variety show, burst into tears and admitted that begging for forgiveness was an arrogant act. However, in the end, he still withdrew his retirement promise.
When the door to operations in Korea was almost closed, Park Yoo Chun turned to Japan, organizing fan meetings (fan meetings) to celebrate 20 years of operation and fan evening parties with expensive tickets.
He also participated in the independent film "Devoted to evil" and won the Best Actor award at the Las Vegas Asian Film Awards, almost shifting his entire career to foreign markets.
The path of Choi Jong Hoon - former FTISLAND member - who was imprisoned for being involved in the gang rape in the Burning Sun scandal, is also very similar.
At the peak of the 2019 scandal, he left the group and declared: "I will end my life in the entertainment industry and live a self-criticizing life".
After serving a 2-and-a-half-year prison sentence, Choi Jong Hoon was released at the end of 2021. But only 2 years later, the male singer announced his return to activities by opening a paid channel on a platform for fans in Japan.
Although legally Choi Jong Hoon has completed his sentence, the audience is still indifferent due to the seriousness of the crime. Many people question the sincerity in the male singer's self-criticism process, when the first step after returning was to open a free exchange service.
Former Big Bang member T.O.P is also a case that has repeatedly hinted at retirement. After being sentenced to suspended imprisonment for using marijuana in 2016, he once wrote on social media that he has no intention of returning to the entertainment industry.
However, he has officially returned to acting through the second season of the global hit movie "Squid Game" at the end of 2024.
In April this year, he continued to return to his main job, music, when he released his first solo studio album called "Multi-Perspective" including 11 songs.
In a recent interview, when mentioning previous statements, T.O.P bowed his head to apologize and said: "I apologize to the fans. That was my extremely hasty and stupid action". However, the negative public opinion about his return has not subsided.
The fact that many celebrities continuously use "retiring" statements as a temporary shield to overcome the crisis, and then after public opinion calms down, resume profit-making activities through loyal fandoms or foreign markets is facing harsh criticism.
