The NCT Taeyong Withdrawal Support Association released a long statement, demanding the idol's withdrawal, and citing numerous controversies that idol has been embroiled in prior to his debut. Numerous Korean NCT fans have signed the statement. They also created hashtags to spread the word: #LeeTaeyong_Apologize_Quit and SchoolViolenceAssailant_Taeyong_Withdraw.
The lengthy statement reads:
"NCT Taeyong Withdrawal Support Association
The NCT Taeyong Withdrawal Support Association calls for the withdrawal of Taeyong, who continues to affect NCT 127 and NCT's brand image adversely. Taeyong, even before his debut, was embroiled in scandals and was mentioned by the public with constant gossip.
The problem worsened as stories of school violence involving Taeyong was revealed. Still, fans continued to have trust in SM Entertainment and their stance on Taeyong and continued to support him and his participation in group activities under the premise that he would sincerely reflect on his past.
However, recent information revealed Taeyong had once again been involved in a bullying scandal. This has destroyed the trust of fans who had continued cheering him up despite the constant controversy, and fans are disappointed.
Therefore, the Taeyong Withdrawal Support Association decided that we could no longer sit idly through these series of events. We have gathered opinions to draw a statement and demand Taeyong's withdrawal from NCT.
The reasons for requesting the withdrawal are as follows.
1. Taeyong has never given feedback on the issues he was dealing with. Therefore, he shouldn't be allowed to promote.
Taeyong has caused a lot of controversies to date, including fraud in middle school, making sexist remarks, demeaning his classmates' appearance in middle school, and bullying someone to the point that person committed self-harm, amongst others. Nevertheless, Taeyong continues to go about his career without giving clear feedback on the controversy.
On NCT Life, he has said, "To all the people I have hurt, I sincerely apologize." He has stated that he will reflect on his image, yet he continues to get involved in controversy. He did not give clear facts and information on his scandals and merely played to the victims' emotions.
We condemn the act of Taeyong continuing his activities with a sincere apology and reflection of his actions, and we cannot support Taeyong's group activities that have caused such controversies.
2. Fandom has lost trust in Taeyong due to his school violence scandal and how he handled the situation so badly
SM Entertainment and Taeyong expressed their position in an article on October 12, 2019, in which they met and reconciled with the victim in person. Based on the article's content, fans believed that Taeyong had reflected on his past actions and sincerely apologized to the victim, but it was later revealed that there were significant differences in the victim's experience and the management's position on the exchange.
Some of the informant's arguments include: (1) Taeyong showed an insincere attitude, such as sitting crossed leg during the face-to-face situation, (2) Gaslighting the victim with lies, even though sincere dialogue with the victim is necessary, and (3) Staff was alongside Taeyong during the exchange, and the victim was not informed, therefore putting psychological pressure on them.
The informant's claims bring about suspicion on whether SM Entertainment's original claim is true. Fans were once confused by the statements and showed great disappointment by Taeyong's unrepentant attitude. With the loss of trust in Taeyong itself, the bond between artist and fans have faded, and fans feel the need to reveal the truth.
3. Allowing him to continue promoting is almost as if it was killing the victim and informant twice
Some of Taeyong's fans have bullied the victim and the informant. The informant has been suffering from the fans' actions, such as personal theft and cyberbullying. The victim is unable to live a normal life due to the bullying from fans and the trauma they have suffered.
Taeyong's appearance as an artist in the media is also difficult for the victim. They are experiencing hell, and it won't end until Taeyong leaves the group. We want Taeyong's withdrawal from NCT and a clear statement from Taeyong on the case to prevent secondary abuse through fabricated data.
4. He disrupts NCT's image and growth and is the cause of their fame's decline.
In addition to NCT, Taeyong is also a member of NCT U and is a dominant figure in the NCT brand. The controversies of Taeyong has caused a huge blow to the group's image, and this is not limited to Taeyong's activities in his groups. The members of the NCT Dream and Kun, Ten, and Lucas, who are not related to him at all, are also affected by his actions.
All for Taeyong, the members are ridiculed just because they are members of the same group, which results in the efforts all the other members to be shunned as people only pay attention to the middle school and high school violence Taeyong committed.
Because of this, NCT is a group tarnished by Taeyong, which hinders them from attracting long-term fans. It also caused the departure of existing fans who cannot stand to be fans amidst the controversies. I'm sure we all know that this is the most important time for NCT, who have just spread their wings. At a time when the fandom needs to stick together, Taeyong is a major factor as to why NCT's brand value is lowering and why their growth is hindered. Only Taeyong's withdrawal from the team can solve this chronic problem.
SM Entertainment has exhausted fans by consistently responding improperly to Taeyong's controversies. Such responses, which persisted even amidst a school violence case, makes us doubt their morality.
Taeyong's continuous activities with the current attitude he has are hurting the victim, which has caused fans to turn away and bury the other member's talents due to the school violence scandal. For the sake of the future activities of the 17 members who suffer, as well as the life of the victims, we can no longer sit idly by. For the smooth activities of NCT's groups and members, we strongly demand Taeyong's withdrawal from NCT.
We hope you make a wise decision for our artists."
Taeyong debuted in 2016 with NCT U. In his whole career, he has been involved in several controversies, in which Taeyong has either admitted to and apologized for, or has been proven to be false information spread by anti-fans. Unfortunately, some Korean netizens have refused to accept his apology and labeled him as insincere.
Meanwhile, despite the constant mention of brand value, NCT ranked at number 2 in boy group brand reputation rankings for June.
