Kangta cancels song after scandal

Singer Kangta cancelled the release of a new song on Sunday, due to the recent rumors about his complicated love life.

Kangta, a member of veteran boy band H.O.T., whose real name is An Chil-hyun, posted an apology on his Instagram account, saying he is “deeply sorry to the fans who have been hurt and disappointed.”

“I apologize to everyone who have been hurt by me,” he wrote, “and everyone else who have been mentioned regardless of their intentions.”

On Thursday morning, model Woo Ju-an uploaded a video clip of herself and Kangta kissing at a jjimjilbang (korean sauna). While SM Entertainment, his agency, explained that it was “a relationship that ended years ago,” another report came later the same day saying Kangta was dating actor Jung Yu-mi. The agency denied it.

Yet on Saturday, former news announcer Oh Jung-yeon posted a long description of a day when she found her lover “in bed with another woman” two years ago, along with a screen-capture of Woo and Kangta’s name on the internet.

“What happens if he tells you he’s going to bed early but turns out to be spending time with a different girl?” Oh wrote, “And what if that person has been an idol to you since you were a child?”

A few hours later, Woo uploaded her own Instagram post reading, “he told me that you had dated until the year before ... I had no idea who you were, and I wish you would have called me and told me if there was something I needed to know. Please don’t frame me as an adulterer without proper reasons.”

Kangta kept his silence until Sunday evening, when he posted an apology just hours before his new song “Love Song” was supposed to have dropped at 6 p.m.

“I have cancelled the release of the new song,” he wrote. “But since the musicals and concerts cannot be cancelled just on my decision, I will do my best in minimizing the damage to the people involved,” he said.

“I should have been better, having been loved [by fans] for so many years. Everything that happened was my fault, without any excuse. I will be spending the upcoming days looking back and reflecting on myself.”

Kangta is set to perform in the stage musical “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” on Aug. 16 and in his band H.O.T.’s concert from Sept. 20 to 22 at the Gocheok Sky Dome, western Seoul.

By Yoon So-yeon