On September 6, former JBJ member and solo artist Kim Yong Guk (Longguo) took to his Instagram to write a lengthy letter to his fans, addressing the numerous controversies which forced him to take a brief hiatus from promotions.
Read his full letter below:
"Hello everyone. This is Yong Guk.
First, I want to thank you all for the abundant support toward my new solo album.
As I wrap up my short solo album promotions, I came to the realization that now is the time to tell you my story after debating about it for a long time, knowing that it is too late.
I thought that every single issue which occurred was due to the fact that I was lacking as a person, and I am still reflecting on my unworthiness. There were some rumors which were not true, but nonetheless, I did not speak up for fear that anything I said would come across as defensive. However, because I kept quiet about the problems, some rumors which were not true ended up coming across as true, and many people ended up getting hurt, so I am finding courage at last to speak up.
First, I have nothing but apologies to give for the disappointment and frustration I caused regarding Lucy. While living with many cats, I did not come to a wise decision when faced with conflict between the cats, and ultimately ended up putting Lucy up for adoption. It was my fault for ignorantly thinking that it was the best solution for Lucy and the other cats. The reasons that I was not able to tell the fans, who cherished Lucy even more than I did, about her being given away was that I struggled with how to open up about it and ended up missing the right time. This was also my fault, and I am reflecting on my actions.
After giving Lucy away, I used 'busy' as an excuse and never looked into how Lucy was doing and what painful situations she went through, only finding out about the events later. Some time afterward, I was contacted by Lucy's new owner, saying that it was their fault, but I believed that I was still at fault the most for giving Lucy away in the first place.
I would also like to apologize to those of you who were hurt by the words I posted on my private SNS account. After debuting, I experienced such overwhelming happiness during my promotions, and so much love that I was afraid it would all disappear in the blink of an eye. But it's also true that I became insanely busy compared to my life before debuting, and so it took a toll on me physically. I want to firmly address that I have never once felt disillusioned in my relationship with the fans, and I have never once wished that my promotions would end soon. Because I was physically exhausted at the time, I misused my private account and left some ignorant words which did not reflect my true feelings, inflicting disappointment and pain on my fans. I was genuinely sorry for the hurt I caused, and please understand that in truth, I am always overwhelmingly grateful.
The rumors that I made remarks degrading women or that I referred to my fans as my mothers-in-law during a game broadcast, are false. Many fans know of my game ID, but I did not want to change it just because of the fact that it was well-known, and so I continued to use the same ID while taking caution, knowing that it was public. I have also seen the rumored footage of an individual making such remarks, claiming that I was the individual involved, but I am not the person in the footage and the user's ID is also not my ID. The word 'mother-in-law' in itself is a very foreign word to me, and I have never felt that my fans were like 'mothers-in-law' to me.
I also saw rumors stating that my mother came to see me during my concert, and I sent her away without seeing her. The truth is that I have not been able to see my mother since I debuted. My mother also feels disappointed that she has not been able to see me perform in person. She has not had an opportunity to come see me since I debuted, so when she saw such rumors, she was also upset, and I suffered greatly seeing her attempting to explain the truth and clarify the rumors. I cannot prove to you all that my mother has never traveled to Korea in order to see me since my debut, but I still want to tell you that the rumors are not true.
Finally, I still have trouble when it comes to the Korean language. Afraid that my feelings would come across in the wrong ways due to my lack of fluency, I received help in composing this letter after spending hours writing, re-writing, and erasing the contents. Once again, I want to apologize to all those who were hurt by my actions, my ignorance when it came to taking care of my cats, etc; I am also sorry to Lucy for the pain I caused her because of my lack of responsibility. I will continue to put in my best efforts and reflect on my actions, so that I can show you a more mature side of me. Thank you for reading this long post."
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