K-pop idol Ravi leaves VIXX, pens letter to fans following his military service issue
Ravi has left the K-pop group VIXX amid a controversy that ensued after the South Korean rapper lied and pretended to have epilepsy to avoid enlistment to army.
VIXX’s agency, Jellyfish Entertainment, announced his departure from the group on April 11, according to a report by local media outlet Soompi.
On the same day, Ravi posted a lengthy message to his fans on Instagram, apologizing for facing the military corruption issue.
“First of all, I apologize to everyone who has been harmed and hurt by what I did wrong,” he began his letter. He went on to explain the military corruption issue.
“In the past, I was assigned to public service due to illness I had, and I was postponing my service for my activities when I reached the point where it was difficult to postpone my service any further,” he said.
He further explained how he decided to manipulate his medical records to evade serving as an active-duty soldier: “I was the only artist in the company generating profits, and the implementation dates for the contracts that were signed before COVID-19 were being postponed without certainty, so with the burden of contract cancellation charges, I was desperate to delay my military service.”
“With desperation, I made a foolish decision, and when my worries about the company and the contract issues were resolved, I voluntarily registered for public service and was carrying out my service since October of last year,” he said.
The rapper went on to express his apologies to epilepsy patients due to his “self-justified” decision.
“I would like to sincerely apologize to the epilepsy patients and their families who must have been hurt by this self-justified wrong decision I made in this process along with everyone required to serve who is diligently carrying out their duty even at this moment.”
Ravi went on to apologize once again to his fans, sharing his decision to leave VIXX: “I wanted to be someone you could be proud of, but I have no excuse for showing such a shameful side of myself.”
“Lastly, I decided to leave VIXX so that no further damage would be given to the team members who were harmed by my fault,” he said.
“I am sincerely grateful to all the members who have been with me for the long period of 11 years, and I feel apologetic beyond words. I sincerely hope that there will be no more harm caused to the members’ valuable efforts because of me.”
Military service is mandatory in South Korea for men ages 18 to 28. They are being assessed based on their physical and mental capacity before they are assigned to different departments.
In January, it was reported that a group of brokers was arrested for falsely diagnosing a "rapper" with epilepsy to “help them be exempted from military service or receive a lesser military grade.”
At that time, Ravi left his variety show 2 Days & 1 Night and in October, he started his military duty as a public service worker.
The first trial of the case of the eight individuals involved, including Ravi, was held on April 11. According to the report, the prosecution requested two-year sentences for those involved for violating the Military Service Act.
VIXX, the group Ravi was previously a part of, currently has three active members Leo, Ken, and Hyuk. They debuted in 2012 and were known for their songs Chained Up, Error, and VOODOO DOLL, among others.
Ravi has also founded his own record label, GROOVL1N, in 2019.