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T.O.P. has made headlines once again, this time due to his ‘controversial’ return to the reality series Squid Game Season 2. Choi Seung Hyun, the former BIGBANG member, broke his 11-year silence in a candid interview with Sports Kyunghang on Wednesday. During the conversation, he addressed the controversies surrounding his role and discussed his current relationship with his former BIGBANG bandmates.
T.O.P. opened up about his distance from the group since leaving, his future plans for a potential music comeback, and reflected on his past mistakes. While he confirmed he’s not in touch with the BIGBANG members, he mentioned he still keeps up with the group’s activities through their content.
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T.O.P addresses his current relationship with BIGBANG members
In a recent interview, T.O.P. addressed his past outbursts on social media when fans linked him to BIGBANG. With a bowed head, he admitted, “I caused great harm to both BIGBANG and my former company due to past mistakes.” T.O.P. shared that he had long wanted to leave the group to avoid further damaging his members and the label.
“Now, I have to move forward on my own, and I believe I must endure the criticism that comes with it. If I were to return to the team that I caused harm to, the team/members would also be labeled for the past mistakes that I made, and I wouldn’t be able to face them. The suffering within me is so great that I’ve been saying for a long time that I want to leave.”
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BIGBANG, which debuted in August 2006, became a K-pop sensation with hits like Lies, Haru Haru, and Bang Bang Bang, marking the genre’s global rise. However, the group went on hiatus after scandal-plagued member Seungri’s departure in 2019, followed by T.O.P’s exit in 2023.
T.O.P says ‘no plan’ of rejoining the group
T.O.P. opened up about his strong reaction to fans who continued to associate him with BIGBANG after his departure, saying that the expectation of a reunion was too painful for him to handle. “I wanted to clear things up, but there was no way for me to do that,” he shared.
He explained that his decision to leave was driven by a deep sense of guilt, and when he sees fans wishing for a reunion or photos of the group together, it feels like looking at images of a family he’s lost. “It’s a pain only those directly involved can understand,” he said. T.O.P. acknowledged that the way he left might have seemed sudden, but emphasised that it wasn’t his intention to depart in that manner.
When asked whether his former bandmates tried to stop him from leaving, T.O.P. chose not to speak on their behalf, saying he didn’t want to talk about them behind their backs. However, he admitted that he had distanced himself from all of them due to the guilt he still carries. I’m not in contact with the members at the moment. I don’t know exactly how long it’s been, but I still feel so guilty that I can’t bring myself to reach out.
T.O.P drug scandal
In July 2017, Choi Seung Hyun was sentenced to 10 months in prison and a two-year suspension from his mandatory military service after being convicted of marijuana use, according to Korean news outlet Yonhap. Marijuana is illegal in South Korea. The controversy took a toll on his career and he faced exile from the South Korean entertainment scene, until his recent return in Squid Game season 2. In the Netflix sequel of the acclaimed series, he portrayed Thanos, a former rapper-turned-unpredictable contestant (Player 230) who indulges in drugs while participating in the perilous games.
