SM Lost Two NCT Members on the Same Day. Mark Is Gone. Ten Is Not.
April 8, 2026 - the day Mark Lee's contract with SM Entertainment expired - was also the day Ten's did. Two NCT members, two different exits, one afternoon.
SM confirmed Mark's departure on April 3, after what the agency described as "a long period of in-depth discussions." His contract ended today, and with it, every NCT activity - NCT 127, NCT DREAM, all of it. Ten's exit was announced three days later, on April 6, also effective today. The difference: Ten stays. SM said it will "continue to stay in close communication to explore opportunities for Ten to participate in WayV and NCT activities, where possible."
Mark addressed fans in a handwritten letter posted to Instagram in Korean and English. The 26-year-old Canadian rapper, who debuted with NCT U on April 9, 2016 - exactly ten years ago tomorrow - described a dream he had carried since before his trainee days: acoustic guitar, busking, writing in English. "I've always carried a dream in my heart," he wrote. "I was too young to fully understand that dream clearly back then, but because I loved music and the stage, I auditioned in Canada 14 years ago." He called his ten years with NCT a complete journey - "the sky, the land, the sea, and the mountains" - and said he was leaving to find out what comes next. Several NCT members left supportive comments on his post. Doyoung addressed fans directly on his own Instagram Stories, asking them not to speculate about the relationship between Mark and the members. "I'd feel an unbearable sense of sadness and injustice," he wrote.
Ten, whose real name is Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul, took a different route. The Thai idol, who has been with SM since debuting with NCT U in 2016, wrote to fans in three languages - Korean, English, and Thai - and framed his exit as a pivot, not a departure. "As I approached my 10th anniversary, I found myself asking new questions about who I am," he wrote. "I felt a desire to take on new challenges in a new environment." He said he intends to continue as a member of both NCT and WayV. SM's arrangement with Ten mirrors frameworks the agency has used before with veteran artists like Taemin and D.O. - both of whom left SM's exclusive roster while maintaining participation in their original groups.
These two exits follow ENHYPEN member Heeseung's announcement on March 10 that he would leave the group to pursue a solo career under BELIFT LAB. Three departures from three of SM and HYBE's most globally visible acts inside a single month. The pattern isn't a crisis - industry insiders told The Korea Herald that exits of this kind are common among idols in the later stages of their careers, driven by contract cycles, artistic ambition, and the financial independence that social media has made possible. But the simultaneity is notable. Mark and Ten joined SM the same year, debuted in the same subunit, and their contracts ended on the same calendar day.
NCT 127 will continue as a seven-member group: Johnny, Taeyong, Yuta, Doyoung, Jaehyun, Jungwoo, and Haechan. NCT DREAM moves forward with six: Renjun, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, Chenle, and Jisung. Mark's last performance with any NCT unit was at The Dream Show 4 finale at Seoul's Olympic Park KSPO DOME on March 29.
Neither Mark nor Ten has announced what comes next. Mark's letter ended with a question he left open: "What will my music be? What kind of fruit will I bear?"
