On March 24, 1998, with the stage name Eric, he debuted as leader and main rapper of group Shinhwa with their single "해결사" (The Solver) on KM Music Tank. He stated that their debut album, Resolver, did not perform well and the band almost disbanded. At the time, he thought seriously about giving up and returning to the U.S.
On March 24, 1998, Eric debuted as leader and main rapper of Shinhwa with "해결사" (The Solver) on KM Music Tank under his stage name. He noted that their debut album, Resolver, did not perform well and the band nearly disbanded. At the time, he seriously considered quitting and returning to the U.S.