SEVENTEEN member Seungkwan. Photo from SEVENTEEN's X accountSeungkwan of boy band SEVENTEEN addressed Tuesday the treatment of K-pop idols, a statement that is speculated to be connected to ongoing controversies involving his label's parent company HYBE.

On Instagram, the 26-year-old singer made a post where he discussed the challenges faced by pop stars. Although Seungkwan did not specify to whom his message was directed, some social media users have interpreted it as a response to HYBE.

Last week, a lawmaker from South Korea's National Assembly revealed that HYBE executives received a "weekly music industry report" containing disparaging comments about K-pop artists, including critiques of their appearance, skills, and other personal attributes, according to reports.

"I feel that I can no longer stay silent for all my colleagues who are working hard even at this moment, my fans, my members, my people who are getting hurt," Seungkwan said in the post's lengthy caption, which was translated into English by K-pop news portal Soompi.

"Being a celebrity is a job I chose, and while there are parts I must endure because I receive a lot of love, I don’t think it is a job where we have to endure to the point of self-destruction," he said.

Seungkwan, affectionately known as the "K-pop professor" for his extensive knowledge of idol groups and their music, acknowledged the hard work of his bandmates, colleagues and friends in the industry, calling them "people who genuinely love this work purely."

But Seungkwan also stressed that being an idol is not an easy career. "We have experienced enough pain, fallen apart, and somehow overcome it, putting in tenacious effort to show our best on stage for our fans. I hope people don’t take idols lightly," he said.

"You don’t have the right to easily intrude on our narrative. Not just us, but other artists as well, we are not your items. I hope you don’t think you can use and enjoy us as you please," he added.

Seungkwan concluded his post's caption by saying, "I sincerely hope we stop giving wounds we can’t take responsibility for. I don’t want to see my members, all my colleagues who are working hard right now, the staff who have sincerely worked for us, and our fans getting hurt anymore."

The post also included a photo of a handwritten letter from Haewon of the girl group NMIXX, in which she expressed her admiration for Seungkwan as a senior colleague in the industry.

HYBE has said the report on K-pop groups was a compilation of online comments for monitoring purposes, denying that it represented the company's opinions, according to a report.

SEVENTEEN is under Pledis Entertainment, one of several labels under HYBE, which also manages K-pop supergroup BTS through BigHit Music.

HYBE Labels, explained: K-pop acts, their sub-labels

Meanwhile, SEVENTEEN is currently on the United States leg of its "Right Here" world tour, which will make a two-day stop in the Philippines in January.

For more news and features on K-pop, K-drama, and K-stars, visit the Hallyu Corner microsite.

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