2026 has been an interesting year for K-pop, to say the least. Within a few weeks of each other, two of K-pop’s biggest powerhouses, Mark Lee of NCT and Lee Heeseung of ENHYPEN, have both elected to leave their respective groups. This came as a shock to the K-pop community, as Heeseung was seen just days prior to his announcement at a fan signing before the company released a statement on his behalf. Mark’s case was slightly different, featuring a handwritten note on his Instagram account in both English and Korean, thanking fans for the endless support of his 10-year journey and expressing his desire to focus on a more acoustic sound.
Mark, a member of NCT spanning multiple subgroups, was one of the founding members from the group’s debut in 2016. From the start, he was a very popular member. As an ACE (all rounder member), he is skilled as the group’s main rapper and dancer, also singing from time to time with further skills in guitar. Needless to say, he is a gem in the industry — truly talented and a role model for many new idols. His natural charisma, loud laugh, bilingualism, and charm is also very enticing for global fans, so he drew in a huge following for the group. He, along with fellow member Haechan Lee, are the only two members of NCT’s 26-member group to have been active in both the units of NCT Dream, NCT 127, and NCT U. This made them both incredibly busy over the years, and caused Mark to be featured in plenty of title tracks. He is also the member to consistently have the most lines, center-dance time, and other idol commitments like variety show entrances.Â
Understandably so, this can get exhausting. Often, members of K-pop groups are not able to fully contribute their input of their own album sound — that’s dictated by their overseeing company. I think it is more than reasonable that after 10 years, Mark has decided to leave NCT in pursuit of his own solo sound — one that is more acoustic and vocally focused than his previous rap background. Mark’s departure was met with much support, both from fans and his fellow members, as they’ve publicly announced their support for his future endeavors.
As for Heeseung Lee, he was the oldest member of seven-member group ENHYPEN, and regarded as one of their most talented members. As a strong vocalist, he would carry many of the choruses, high-notes, and adlibs on all title tracks, and was also a talented dancer. Due to his well-rounded nature and high stage presence, Heeseung was often the center of performances, and garnered a ton of attention from people outside of the K-pop scope for his talents. This was seen at Coachella last year, when Heeseung gained a lot of attention as the “Red Hair Guy”. In short, Heeseung was a main contributor to ENHYPEN’s global fame, and his departure will be felt greatly.
However, Heeseung’s departure from ENHYPEN feels more cryptic. The announcement was initially made on Heeseung’s behalf by his company BELIFT, though Heeseung also addressed fans later. Heeseung has opted to launch his new upcoming solo career under the stage name EVAN. Fans are notably vocal, though, about their despair over this decision and have been placing numerous comments under all social media platforms stating: “ENHYPEN IS SEVEN.” Some have even speculated that his departure was not made fully under his own autonomy, and may have been influenced by his company.Â
Either way, fans have reacted on opposite ends of the spectrum to both exits from these powerhouse idols. Still, the important thing as fans is that we should support their artistic choices, and I know I am definitely looking forward to the first solo releases by Mark Lee and EVAN!