SEOUL - K-pop singer Lucas Wong has been under fire on social media this week and is going on a hiatus after issuing an apology on Wednesday (Aug 25).

Three former girlfriends had spoken out in quick succession in recent days, alleging that he took advantage of them when they were his fans, cheated on them and gaslighted them.

One also accused him of making her buy him designer goods, such as a Balenciaga jacket, while another said he made her pay for hotels and even cigarettes.

"I've been looking back at my actions and I was able to sincerely reflect on myself. It was wrong and irresponsible and I betrayed my loving and supportive fans," wrote the 22-year-old rapper of Thai and Chinese descent, who was born in Hong Kong.

"Once again, I would like to apologise to everyone who may have been disappointed by my actions. I will make sure this never happens again and I will halt all my schedules as of now and take time to reflect on myself."

Wong made his debut in mega boy band NCT in 2018 and is also part of its Chinese subunit WayV and a band known as SuperM. He is popular in China also for being in the Chinese version of variety show Running Man.

In the wake of the scandal, his management agency, SM Entertainment, suspended the release of a WayV single, Jalapeno. The song featuring Wong and another member, Hendery, was slated for release on Wednesday (Aug 25).

While his fans initially defended him and tried to disprove the voice messages and chat history provided by his accusers, they quickly turned on him after he posted his apology letter, which was handwritten in Chinese. He also typed out his caption in both Chinese and Korean, but the move failed to appease his Korean fans.

They commented that as he had been promoted as an artiste in South Korea, he should have written at least a sentence in Korean and questioned if he was leaving the group for good.