{"id":56113,"date":"2026-04-03T12:20:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T08:20:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/?p=56113"},"modified":"2026-04-04T01:17:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T21:17:32","slug":"mark-nct-departure-sm-entertainment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/mark-nct-departure-sm-entertainment\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark to Exit NCT and SM Entertainment After 10 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"background: #f7fafc; padding: 15px;\">\n<p><strong>Quick Read<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Mark will officially conclude his exclusive contract with SM Entertainment on April 8, 2026.<\/li>\n<li>NCT 127 will continue as a seven-member ensemble, while NCT Dream will proceed as a six-member unit.<\/li>\n<li>The artist plans to transition toward independent creative projects, including writing and solo music, after a decade with the group.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Mark, the prominent member of the boy band NCT, is set to leave SM Entertainment following a mutual agreement to conclude his exclusive contract. The agency officially announced on April 3, 2026, that the departure will take effect on April 8, marking the end of a decade-long professional relationship that began with his 2016 debut.<\/p>\n<h2>Structural Shifts Within NCT Units<\/h2>\n<p>The departure brings significant changes to the group&#8217;s internal structure. SM Entertainment confirmed that going forward, NCT 127 will continue its activities as a seven-member group, while NCT Dream will proceed with six members. This realignment follows an extensive period of dialogue between the agency and the artist regarding his future career trajectory.<\/p>\n<h2>Transitioning to Independent Creative Paths<\/h2>\n<p>In a handwritten letter shared via his Instagram account, Mark addressed his decision to step away from the group dynamic. Reflecting on his decade in the industry, he expressed a desire to pursue personal creative interests, specifically mentioning a passion for acoustic performance and writing in English. He described this move as a necessary step to explore a more concrete version of himself, noting that his fellow NCT members have offered their encouragement and support for his decision to seek new creative challenges.<\/p>\n<h2>The Legacy of a Decade-Long Career<\/h2>\n<p>Since debuting with NCT U in April 2016, Mark has been a central figure across multiple sub-units, including NCT 127 and NCT Dream. SM Entertainment acknowledged his contributions, stating that he demonstrated exceptional capabilities both as a group performer and a solo artist. The agency expressed gratitude for his time with the label and confirmed that it remains committed to supporting the remaining members of the NCT project.<\/p>\n<p><em>The departure signals a broader shift in the K-pop industry where long-term group members increasingly prioritize individual creative agency, reflecting a maturing artist landscape where personal writing and independent artistic expression take precedence over established group structures.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SM Entertainment confirmed that Mark will conclude his exclusive contract on April 8, ending his decade-long tenure with NCT 127 and NCT Dream to pursue independent creative goals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":-1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"googlesitekit_rrm_CAow5Nm1DA:productID":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1480],"tags":[4297,54065,44341],"class_list":["post-56113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-k-pop","tag-mark-lee","tag-sm-entertainment"],"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/mark-nct-portrait.jpg","_embedded":{"wp:featuredmedia":[{"id":-1,"source_url":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/mark-nct-portrait.jpg","media_type":"image","mime_type":"image\/jpeg"}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56113"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56113\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}