“I feel sick,” wrote one of Moon Tae-il’s fans after learning of the singer’s forced resignation from South Korean boy band NCT for being “implicated in a criminal case concerning a sexual offense,” according to the Korean entertainment company SM Entertainment.

The 30-year-old popstar was a member of the South Korean boy band NCT, and he was asked to step down by the management firm after a police investigation confirmed his involvement in an unspecified sexual abuse case.

SM Entertainment released an official statement on X, verifying that the measures will take effect immediately but refusing to divulge the precise nature of the allegations.

Tae-il is said to be cooperating with the authorities as the investigation continues. His departure has left the group’s future uncertain and his fans in shock as other members of the group and the agency unfollowed him on social media.

K-pop star Tae-il was kicked out of South Korean boy band NCT due to being implicated in a sex crime scandal

Image credits: Han Myung-Gu / Getty

“We recognized that the seriousness of the issue meant that we could no longer continue our team activities,” read the statement, which has more than 80 million views at the time of writing.

“We decided to also withdraw Taeil from the team after discussing the matter with him,” the company continued, apologizing for the controversy caused by their artist.

NCT is a boy band composed of 25 members, itself subdivided into six groups, such as NCT U and NCT 127, both of which Tae-il was a part of.

Image credits: mo.on_air

The artist has been a part of the band since 2016 and contributed to its success in charting eight albums on the Billboard 200, including top-10 placements with albums like Sticker: The 3rd Album, 2 Baddies, and NCT #127: Neo Zone.

Tae-il was also notorious for at one point holding the Guinness World Record for the fastest time to reach 1 million followers on Instagram, with the award being given to him in November 2020.

He would later lose the record to Kim Taehyung of the rival boy band BTS, managed by the entertainment agency HYBE.

Followers of the group have left more than 10,000 comments on the official post, which has been shared more than 250,000 times at the time of writing

Image credits: SMTOWN

NCT fans were shocked and heartbroken after hearing of their idol’s release.

“I think the fact he was removed and scrubbed from the group and the members’ accounts mean there is not a single doubt he is guilty,” one fan argued, pointing out that SM Entertainment has been removing Tae-il’s mentions and photos from their pages, as well as unfollowing him on social media.

Some fans expressed disappointment, while others were left in disbelief at the alleged crime.

“It’s scary how you can idolize someone who is actually a bad person but you have no idea because their job centers around making you fall in love with them,” said one upset fan.

Image credits: The Chosunilbo JNS / Getty

“Taeil? The Taeil?! He is the last person I would’ve imagined to be involved in any sort of crime,” expressed another in denial.

Some speculated that whatever evidence authorities found during the investigation must’ve been serious since, according to them, this is the first time in a decade SM Entertainment has cut ties with an idol due to a scandal.

“They usually just put them on hiatus during controversies. What he did must have been very horrific and/or he’s being sued by the victim,” another commenter argued. “I hope he rots in jail.”

Kakao, the corporation that owns SM Entertainment, announced on July 2024 the decision to sell the majority of its subsidiaries, including the K-pop firm

Image credits: SMTOWN

The controversy comes one month after Korean media reported that Kakao, the company of which SM Entertainment is a subsidiary, announced the selling of most of its assets.

“Except for assets identified as future core businesses, we have decided to sell everything,” a Kakao representative said in a press release, “SM Entertainment, identified as a cause of various prosecution investigations, has been internally decided to be sold.”

Image credits: mo.on_air

The aforementioned investigations are linked to SM’s founder, Kim Beom Su, who faced prosecution for manipulating the business stock price during negotiations.

“Right now, SM is at its highest profitability and peak value, making it the perfect time to sell it at a high price. It seems logical that SM would be the first priority for sale since selling requires a good product,” the representative continued.

Fans speculated that Tae-il’s sudden removal was a calculated move to protect SM Entertainment’s image amid ongoing investigations

Image credits: lastnamevy

K-pop fans on social media quickly started investigating the reasons behind the surprising decision by the entertainment firm, with some speculating that it was an attempt at protecting their image amid negotiations.

“My theory is the police have been quietly investigating for some time and someone tipped off SM that they were either going to arrest Taeil,” one user said on Reddit.

“They wanted to get ahead so that the public would look at them like they did the right thing. They’re trying to protect their own interests.”

Discussions on social media continue as fans debate the reasons behind Tae-il’s removal from the band. While most fans believe the measures taken by the entertainment conglomerate are too serious to ignore, others are still hoping the artist is proven innocent.

Official statements and quotes were translated from Korean to English for this article.

“He should be in prison.” Fans were outraged by the news and quickly turned on the singer, believing the measures taken by his managers to be proof enough of his guilt

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