Mark leaves NCT: K-pop artist Mark Lee from NCT has officially backed out of the band. The 26-year-old Canadian rapper and singer based in South Korea penned a handwritten letter and shared it on social media to announce his exit from the NCT, NCT 127 and NCT Dream.
Terminating his 10-year contract with SM Entertainment, he leaves behind NCT 127 with seven members: Johnny, Taeyong, Yuta, Doyoung, Jaehyun, Jungwoo, and Haechan. While NCT Dream will reconvene activities with Renjun, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, Chenle, and Jisung, the six members, Mark Lee bids farewell to.
Mark Lee goes solo, promises to return
In his letter, NCT’s former member Mark Lee wrote, “I know this might feel sudden to everyone. Since my trainee days, or perhaps even before, I’ve always carried a dream in my heart. I wanted to travel around busking with an acoustic guitar and loved writing in English so much that I even dreamed of becoming a writer. Though I was too young to fully grasp or visualize that dream, my love for music and the stage led me to audition in Canada 14 years ago, and SM Entertainment became the start of my musical journey with NCT.”
He shared that now that the contract has ended, he had been speculating his exit for a long time. As he goes solo, he shared, “. I became curious about the exact form of that dream and wanted to dive into it wholeheartedly. I wanted to truly find and achieve what my music or ‘fruit’ would be and how to present it to the world.”
He thanked the SM Entertainment ad shared that he felt “eternally sorry and grateful,” but it was the need of the hour. As promised to return, Mark Lee wrote, “I promise to work my hardest to become a better version of Mark when I greet you all anew.” He expressed deep gratitude towards the SJN fans.
How did SM Entertainment react?
Reacting to Mark Lee’s departure from NCT, the management team of the star expressed gratitude towards him. They shared in a statement, “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.”
“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,” they ended the note, assuring the SJN fans and NCT members their full support.