On April 3, Korean entertainment company SM Entertainment officially announced Mark Lee's departure from the group NCT.
SM said that after a long and serious discussion with Mark about future operational orientations, the two sides reached an agreement that Mark's exclusive contract with SM Entertainment will end on April 8.
At the same time, the male singer will end his activities as a member of NCT, NCT 127 and NCT Dream.
SM company sends sincere thanks to Mark because since his debut in the group NCT in 2016, he has shown outstanding talent not only for group activities but also as a solo artist for the past 10 years. The company wishes Mark the best in his upcoming new journey.
After Mark leaves, the group NCT 127 will operate with a 7-member lineup including Johnny, Taeyong, Yuta, Doyoung, Jaehyun, Jungwoo and Haechan. Meanwhile, NCT Dream will operate with a 6-member lineup including Renjun, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, Chenle and Jisung.
Immediately after SM's announcement, Mark posted a handwritten letter to fans. In the letter, the male singer reminisced about the 10-year journey and described it as a "truly happy" time.
He expressed his gratitude to the directors, managers, and SM company staff for supporting him. Mark was also touched to say that he had received the support of all members of the NCT group when he confided about leaving. The male singer did not forget to thank fans for loving and creating him today.
Mark knew this announcement would be a shock to many fans, so when the 10-year contract ended, he pondered for a long time about the decision to leave or stay and thought about his true dream.
Regarding the decision to leave the NCT group, the male singer shared: "Going through a wonderful journey, I seemed to think very naturally about which is the greatest dream I can dream of, which is the best thing and the biggest goal I can pursue when living as a person named Mark".
Finally, Mark concluded: "I think I really want to find out what music or "sweet fruit" of mine is, how to bring it to blossom and bear fruit in this world... and definitely have to achieve that.
