Park Yoochun is under criticism for new album promotions after announcing "retirement."
The former JYJ member announced plans to release a new album and Thai Concert on the 31st through a post on his official Instagram stating, "We want to share some good news to the fans who have been waiting a long time for Park Yoochun’s album. We are currently preparing a new album release and will soon be able to greet everyone with a good album. We also plan to hold a solo fan signing and mini-concert, so we ask for your interest and many love."
Yoochun held a fan meeting in Bangkok in January and opened his official website, announced fan recruitments and new photo albums signaling a return to full-fledged promotions.
An official from Park Yoochun's side spoke to OSEN on the 1st and stated, "We will be releasing a new album to other Asian countries aside from Korea, such as Thailand and Japan. It’s true that we are in discussions of releasing it in Korea as well. We are checking to see if it could be possible."
The announcement caused criticism since Park Yoochun announced he was going to retire from the entertainment industry following his "press conference" drug controversy.
Back in May, Yoochun revealed in an interview with Channel A that he's reversing his retirement plans because he wasn't in his right mind when he made the statements. Yoochun stated, "I wanted to apologize to the public. I want to find the time to ask for their forgiveness but that in itself requires a lot of courage. I couldn’t gather that amount of courage and have been debating a lot about it. It was an extreme decision."
He added, "At the time, I was so confused and lost to the point that I don’t remember what made me think and say certain things. I wasn’t in the right mind to make a proper judgement. I was very scared. I was heavily criticized for my past actions, and it was a time where I gave up on my own life. I’m not sure how long it’ll take for me to turn around all the negative public opinion. I know it’s ridiculous of me to even ask for their forgiveness."
Many are curious to see whether the public will accept Yoochun's return to activities.
What are your thoughts on the controversy?
Additional source: (1)