Kangin has been on hiatus from the group since a second drunk-driving case in 2016. (Image: Instagram/@kanginnim)
Kangin is leaving Super Junior after being one of its original 12 members since 2005.
The K-pop singer and actor announced on Instagram on Thursday, July 11, that he was leaving the boy band behind hit songs “Sorry Sorry” and “Mr. Simple.” Kangin has been on hiatus from the group since a second drunk-driving case in 2016, All K-Pop reported.
His post, written in Korean, was translated by All K-Pop to English. It was his first post this year after almost eight months of social media silence.
He wrote: “As of this moment, I plan to let go of the name Super Junior, a name I had for a very long time.
“I’ve always felt nothing but feelings of apology toward my members. I’ve always felt that I needed to come to this decision as soon as possible, but due to the kind hearts of those who cheer me on unchangingly as well as my label’s staff despite my faults, I was not able to summon the courage, and I also felt I was not in a situation where I could decide blindly on my own.
“However, due to my own problems, I had to watch my members suffer misfortunes that they should not have had to face, and I’ve come to the decision that I cannot delay it any longer.”
He apologized to fans and thanked his group members and label’s staff “for respecting me until the end.”
“I will cheer for the success of Super Junior forever,” he said.
Label SJ told news outlets that though he is out of the K-pop group, he will still be an artist under the record label.
Besides his two DUIs, Kangin has been involved in brawls in the past years. In 2009 he was arrested for a brawl outside a bar, and in 2017 he reportedly assaulted a woman at an adult entertainment facility while drunk. Niña V. Guno /ra
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