K-pop idol Mark Lee is parting ways with NCT following the end of his contract with SM Entertainment.
The company shared the news on Weverse today (April 3): “After a long period of careful and thoughtful discussion with Mark regarding his future activities, we have mutually agreed to conclude his exclusive contract as of April 8.
“Mark will conclude all activities as a member of NCT, including NCT 127 and NCT Dream.”
Mark, 26, made his debut with the group back in 2016 and SM Entertainment lauded his “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,” they added.
NCT 127 will carry on with seven members: Johnny, Taeyong, Yuta, Doyoung, Jaehyun, Jungwoo, and Haechan, and NCT Dream with six: Renjun, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, Chenle, and Jisung.
Mark, who also released his debut solo album The Firstfruit in April 2025, posted handwritten letters for his fans on Instagram following the announcement.
In Korean, he thanked the Czennies (fans) who had supported him since his debut with the sub-unit NCT U in 2016 or his time in the pre-debut group SM Rookies three years prior.
He felt gratitude about his time and the heights he had reached with NCT, but added: “After spending 10 years seeing and experiencing the world at its fullest and going on the best journey, I naturally began to wonder: What is the best dream I can possibly dream? What is the greatest work and purpose I can have, living my life as a person named Mark?”
Mark also thanked his bandmates and shared that, after extensive conversations, each of them had told him that they supported his decision.
In English, he wrote to his fans: “I hope our next chapter together could be [one] where we are all healthily smiling about the past, welcoming the present, and being excited for what’s to come.
“It’s a quest that I myself am scared about, but I know that it’s not for the worst.”
He reassured fans that he is not leaving the group “just for fun” and that he is not playing with them or their hearts.
Mark added that he will be “working very hard to make it all make sense” and that ‘I will carry a grateful heart for SM, the NCT members, and Czennies for the rest of my life.”
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