Park asks fans to respect former 2PM leader's decision

Park Jin-young, founder and head of boy band 2PM's management agency JYP Entertainment (JYPE), has asked fans to respect the band's former leader Park Jae-beom's decision to quit the group.

Park posted a letter on the official website of JYPE on Thursday, two days after the idol group member left Korea to return to the United States after coming under heat over controversial comments he made before his debut.

He started the letter by saying: "A lot of people were in shock after Jae-beom's comments he wrote four years ago became public. And yes, they were very shocking messages. I too would have felt very angry and betrayed if another celebrity had written such words."

"But the messages actually don't come as much of a shock to people like myself, who have known him for a long time. I knew he was that sort of a guy," Park said.

He went on to explain that Jae-beom was "a delinquent and out of line" when he first came to Korea four years ago, laughing at Korea and everyone around him.

However, he said he decided to train Jae-beom as a singer because he liked that Jae-beom was straightforward with his emotions rather than being calculative and two-faced. With time, he changed to become the person the public saw on TV, said Park.

"I would have made the same decision if I were in his shoes," Park went on to say. "He was very sorry for everyone around him, particularly the Korean people who had been so good to him. And he said he could not go on stage to perform in such a state anymore."

"What matters now is not Jae-beom's life as a member of 2PM but as a young man. It is very important for him to look back and reflect on his wrongdoings," Park wrote. "Like I did, I hope you also respect his decisions."

Park also revealed an email Jae-beom sent him before leaving Korea. "I've been a little punk in the past. I just want to let you know that it was a life changing experience," the 22-year-old singer wrote. "It made me a much better, stronger person and I am thankful for everything you have done for me."

The former 2PM leader had been in hot water since the weekend over comments he made on his MySpace account between 2005 to 2007 regarding Korea including "I hate Koreans."

The group has been one of the most popular boy bands in Korea since their debut in 2008.

Jessica Kim jesskim@asiae.co.kr