Earlier this year, military service exemption brokers were arrested on charges of corruption, after it had been found out that they were designating their clients to a neurologist in Seoul and were giving them a false diagnosis of epilepsy for them to be exempted from military service.
Documents of Ravi’s military service examination were found in one of the mobile phones of one of the brokers, thus suggesting that the idol rapper was one of their clients.
On March 6, 2023, it was reported that the arrest warrant for Ravi had been dismissed following his confession to the charges, as well as his unlikeliness of fleeing or destroying evidence.
7 days after, on March 13, 2023, the Seoul South District Prosecutor’s Officer and Military Personnel Bureau confirmed that over 100 people, including Ravi and individuals in professional sports and entertainment industry, were being charged for violating the Military Service Act.
On April 11, 2023, the first trial had found Ravi, his label-mate Nafl, and their agency’s GROOVL1N’s co-CEO “A” guilty on the charges of violating the Military Service Act. During the trial, the prosecution requested for Ravi to be sentenced to 2 years in prison.
On the same day, Ravi had withdrawn from his group VIXX and posted a letter on his Instagram account, apologizing for his actions.
“Hello, this is Ravi.
First of all, I apologize to everyone who has been harmed and hurt by what I did wrong.
In the past, I was assigned to public service due to illness I had, and I was postponing my service for my activities when I reached the point where it was difficult to postpone my service any further.
I was the only artist in the company generating profits, and the implementation dates for the contracts that were signed before COVID-19 were being postponed without certainty, so with the burden of contract cancellation charges, I was desperate to delay my military service.
With desperation, I made a foolish decision, and when my worries about the company and the contract issues were resolved, I voluntarily registered for public service and was carrying out my service since October of last year.
I would like to sincerely apologize to the epilepsy patients and their families who must have been hurt by this self-justified wrong decision I made in this process along with everyone required to serve who is diligently carrying out their duty even at this moment.
Furthermore, I sincerely apologize to all the people who were hurt by me and to the fans who passionately supported my life beyond my existence as an artist for making you all experience the feeling that the time we spent together is being denied and falling apart.
I wanted to be someone you could be proud of, but I have no excuse for showing such a shameful side of myself.
Compared to everyone’s valuable feelings which were developed sincerely over a long period of time, I think I was very lacking.
Lastly, I decided to leave VIXX so that no further damage would be given to the team members who were harmed by my fault. I am sincerely grateful to all the members who have been with me for the long period of 11 years, and I feel apologetic beyond words. I sincerely hope that there will be no more harm caused to the members’ valuable efforts because of me.
I think I am a person who is lacking a lot and still has much to learn.
I think it is my responsibility to take all the criticism over this incident. The more you scold me, the more I will repent and learn from it.
I know very well that my simple words of apology do not make my faults go away.
I will continue to learn and work hard so that I can live as a better person by reflecting on this moment without forgetting it.
I sincerely apologize.”
On April 11, 2023, Jellyfish Entertainment announced the departure of Ravi from VIXX through a statement they shared on VIXX’s fancafe.
“Hello, this is Jellyfish Entertainment.
We would like to sincerely thank the fans who support VIXX and we would like to inform you about Ravi’s withdrawal from the group.
Ravi decided to leave the group today after a series of discussions with the company.
We would like to apologize for concerning the fans who support VIXX.”
Other POP! stories that you might like:
Lee Seung-gi’s Instagram post draws in mixed reactions
Chinese actor makes $1.1 million after suing companies for using his ‘lying’ meme
Google Drive imposes a 5 million file cap for its users without prior warning
Internet reacts to producer Ahn Joon-young’s rehiring following prison term