NCT’s Mark Lee to Depart SM Entertainment Super Group

K-pop fans were met with sad news today as SM Entertainment announced the departure of NCT member Mark Lee. The Canadian-born rapper was a key member of the group, and it was announced he would be departing both of his current sub-units, NCT Dream and NCT 127, as well as SM Entertainment as a whole.

SM Entertainment’s Statement

SM Entertainment released a statement on Mark’s departure, writing: 

Hello, this is SM Entertainment.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to fans who always send NCT their unwavering support.

After a long period of in-depth discussions with Mark regarding the direction of his future activities and following adequate conversations between both parties, we came to a mutual agreement to conclude his exclusive contract as of April 8. Accordingly, Mark will end all NCT activities, including NCT 127 and NCT DREAM.

Since debuting in 2016 as part of NCT, Mark has demonstrated outstanding abilities not only in group promotions but also as a solo artist, showing remarkable activities over the past 10 years. We would like to convey our gratitude for the valuable time we have shared together, and we sincerely cheer on Mark as he leaves the team and begins a new leap forward.

Going forward, NCT 127 plans to continue activities with seven members—Johnny, Taeyong, Yuta, Doyoung, Jaehyun, Jungwoo, and Haechan—and NCT DREAM plans to continue activities with six members—Renjun, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, Chenle, and Jisung.

We will continue to spare no effort in providing our full support for the activities of the NCT members, and we will do our utmost even more for the fans who continue to love NCT without change.

Thank you.

Mark’s Words

Mark Lee himself went on to release a statement in Korean as well as a handwritten letter in English on his Instagram explaining his decision to fans. Mark’s departure comes exactly 10 years after his debut, and in his statement, Mark thanked fans and his fellow members for their support over the past decade. 

He stated:

As I talked a lot with each and every member, it got to the point where just thinking about it makes me tear up—because in the end, every single member, without exception, told me they support me. I’ll feel sorry for the rest of my life, and more than anything, I’m grateful. I want to say once again a huge, huge thank you—to the older members who see me as their cute little brother and to the younger members who see me as a leader.

I will carry a grateful heart for SM, the NCT members, and Czennies for the rest of my life so that when I greet you again in the future with a new side of myself, I can be a Mark you can be proud of, I will do my absolute best—beyond my best—and work as hard as I can. Once again, thank you so much.” 

The Super Sized Group

This isn’t your ordinary K-pop boy band. NCT, or Neo Culture Technology, features a staggering 25-member line-up and multiple different sub-units with members from all over the world. The beauty of this band is the fact that they can perform in many different configurations with different groupings of members teaming up for different projects as SM Entertainment sees fit.

Mark Lee was an integral part of the boy band as he acted as the leader of the fixed sub-unit NCT Dream and the main rapper in NCT 127. Mark was also a member of SM’s other super group SuperM, and his regular participation in so many different groups in addition to his solo work earned Mark Lee the reputation as one of the hardest-working idols in K-pop. 

Fans are rightly shocked and upset by Mark’s departure, as members seem to be leaving K-pop groups left and right this year.