TVXQ member Yunho's agency, SM Entertainment, has come to his defense after reports came to light that he rushed out of an adult entertainment venue to avoid the cops who were busting social distancing violators.
The agency said that while Yunho broke the quarantine rules, he didn't try to escape the cops and was, in fact, cooperative with the police. He was also not subsequently arrested when the police verified his identity.
SM Entertainment said that Yunho did not do anything wrong except break quarantine. The agency denied all the other allegations, especially about Yunho being with a woman at the said venue.
The agency further clarified that it was Yunho's first time at the members-only entertainment site, which was illegally operating without a business permit, per MBC. He was at the venue upon a friend's invitation and they were no female employees while he was there. Witnesses, however, said that there were several women at the restaurant.
According to The Straits Times, the 35-year-old superstar was with three people at a Gangnam restaurant until midnight when Seoul has a strict 10:00 p.m. curfew amid this pandemic. Additional reports stated that Yunho's friends tried to create a distraction so that he could evade the cops.
The incident with the police happened in February 2021 but Yunho recently issued a public apology on his Instagram when the story broke online a few weeks later. The TVXQ member said that he's sorry to the healthcare workers who have been working hard to curb the spread of the virus while he broke the quarantine. Yunho also said he's ashamed of what he did and that he understands the public could be angry and upset about it.
Netizens were disappointed that Yunho, who has a squeaky-clean reputation, was overstaying at the restaurant and breaking COVID-19 rules. Some said that they were shocked with the allegations that he was on the site, more so because Yunho allegedly tried to escape the police.
Yunho rose to popularity in South Korea when the K-pop band TVXQ debuted in 2003. He worked alongside four other talents and scored their first number one album in 2005. The group also received multiple music awards in South Korea and Japan.
However, TVXQ disbanded in 2009 but regrouped into a duo, with Yunho and Max Changmin. The two continued their success with top-selling albums until Yunho embarked on a solo career in 2015. He also became an actor and starred in the romantic drama Meloholic.
In December 2020, Yunho announced that he was planning a comeback in the music scene and released Noir, his extended play, the following month.
