Choi Min-hwan’s Past Comments on Burning Sun Resurface Amidst Prostitution Allegations
On October 25, an online community called Instiz featured a post titled “Choi Min-hwan’s Fan Chat Room When Choi Jong-hoon Was Caught in Burning Sun Scandal.”
The post included screenshots from 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 “Jung Joon-young group chat” following the Burning Sun scandal.
In his messages, Choi Min-hwan stated, “There’s no need to worry about this issue, it’s fine,” and added, “It’s really not a big deal, but the news articles are coming out sensationally, which concerns me too.” He continued, “Whether it’s Burning Sun or whatever, I’ve never even been there, and it’s really frustrating to see my name being mentioned in news headlines,” and “There’s no need to blow up something that’s not even a big issue.”
At the time, these messages were interpreted as Choi Min-hwan’s attempt to reassure fans by explaining his lack of connection to the Burning Sun or 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 being the first one to carefully message you in the chat room out of concern when the news broke.”
Additionally, Minhwan faces allegations of involvement in false address registration after lending his home address to Choi Jong-hoon, who was expelled from the entertainment industry following the Burning Sun scandal and group sexual assault cases. According to the Korean Sunday News, Choi Jong-hoon used Choi Min-hwan’s home address for about a year in 2018, though 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 that he moved out after about a year, and Choi Min-hwan had forgotten about lending the address.”
On October 24, Yulhee exposed Choi Min-hwan’s misconduct during their marriage through a YouTube video. According to Yulhee, Minhwan would inappropriately touch her body parts and insert folded money into her chest while his family was present at home.
Furthermore, Yulhee released multiple audio recordings of Choi Min-hwan from July and August 2022. The recordings, which caused significant shock, contained content of Choi Min-hwan waiting for and seeking adult services.
In response, Choi Min-hwan’s agency FNC Entertainment apologized on October 25, stating, “Minhwan will halt all media activities, including broadcasts where he appears with his children.” The production team of KBS2’s variety show “The Return of Superman” also announced, “We have decided to remove Choi Min-hwan from the show. There is no pre-recorded content.”
Source: Daum
