SEVENTEEN‘s Seungkwan has personally warned fans after revealing that a former friend from his hometown of Jeju allegedly caused financial harm to some CARATs.
The situation dates back to when Seungkwan visited Jeju Island for his appointment as a promotional ambassador and filmed a vlog documenting his trip home. During the vlog, Seungkwan visited a business operated by one of his longtime friends in Jeju. However, fans later noticed that the video had been taken down.
Seungkwan explained the situation during a recent live broadcast.
260802 위버스라이브 #승관
캐럿들이 우선이라 피해 안가는게 제일 중요해서 꼭 말해주고 싶었고 승관이가 직접 만나서 밥값을 내주는건 있어도 따로 해놓을 일은 없대
마지막에 무거운 얘기해서 미안하다구 근데 말을 해야 마음이 편할것같다고 🥺 식당에 안좋은 영향이 가는 행동은 안했으면… pic.twitter.com/0JlmhaTRsc
— 쮸 (@BB0O116) August 2, 2026
According to the idol, his visit naturally led to more CARATs visiting the establishment. However, at some point afterward, his friend allegedly did something that Seungkwan described as unacceptable, resulting in fans being harmed.
Although Seungkwan deliberately avoided revealing specific details or publicly identifying the business, he confirmed that he subsequently cut contact with the friend. He also asked any CARATs who may have suffered similar damages afterward to contact his company.
“There are stories going around saying that i pre-paid for fans’ meals there. It was even being shared like it was a heartwarming story but the truth is, I’ve never done that, I’ve never done anything like that. To be honest I’ve wanted to talk about this for a while. I just wasn’t sure whether it was right for me to be the one to say it. I kept feeling uncertain about it. This has actually been going on since last year. The truth is I have not been keeping in touch with that the friend who runs the barbecue restaurant anymore and as you know, I filmed a vlog there. I filmed it with good intentions, I really just did it out of goodwill. fans started going there a lot after that.”
The issue resurfaced after a supposed heartwarming story about Seungkwan began spreading online. Posts claimed that after learning how many fans were visiting his friend’s business, Seungkwan had prepaid money at the establishment so that CARATs could enjoy something on his behalf. However, Seungkwan clarified that the story was completely untrue.
He explained that he no longer even communicates with the individual and felt uncomfortable watching a fabricated story about him supposedly prepaying at the business circulate as a “good deed.”
Seungkwan then gave fans a more serious warning. He stressed that even if someone approaches CARATs claiming to be “Seungkwan’s friend” and offers to obtain SEVENTEEN concert tickets for them in exchange for money, fans should never send them money or participate in such transactions.
“Well I don’t think something like this will happen again for a while, but if someone says they’re my friend and says they’ll book concert tickets for you or something like that, and asks you to send them money for it, you absolutely must not do that, that is absolutely not true. I never arrange tickets for people like that. If someone says ‘I’m Seungkwan’s friend so I’ll book the tickets for you’ or anything like that, I really hope carats will be careful.”
Seungkwan admitted that he had debated whether to discuss the situation publicly. He did not want his words to become an attack against the business or deliberately expose the person involved, but the false prepaid story spreading online ultimately convinced him that he needed to clarify things.
He also asked fans not to attack the establishment, apologizing for having to bring up such a serious subject during the live. Following his explanation, fans began looking into what may have happened.
SEVENTEEN