On March 17, Super Junior's agency Label SJ issued a statement to the press in order to clarify misunderstandings about Heechul's position as a member of the group. 

One representative from Label SJ commented, "Heechul may not be able to perform on stage, but he still participates in Super Junior's albums and other contents. Heechul is still a member of Super Junior. It seems that there were misunderstandings due to the nature of editing on such talk shows." 

On March 16 during the latest episode of JTBC's '7.7 Million Love', the MCs and panelists discussed the story of an English man who asked his Korean girlfriend to break up with him, as he was diagnosed with a rare disease. 

Here, Heechul also shared his story of when he was involved in a severe car accident. The idol said, "14 years ago, I was in a big accident and my left leg was completely broken. I couldn't use that leg to even run, but I still went on stage and performed during concerts. About 6-7 years ago my leg bothered me so much I went to get it checked up again, and they said I might not be able to use this leg any more ever if I kept it up." 

Heechul continued, "I talked about this with my members. Similar to the English man in the story, I said that my life as an idol who dances on stage is finished. The members said that it didn't matter, who cares if you're not dancing on stage, let's all keep going until the end... I was thankful to hear that, but I just didn't want to be such a burdensome person any longer. So I said that I would stop here and do my best in other areas. In my case, it's kind of like I chose to break up." 

Due to Heechul's story, it seems that some viewers were confused and assumed that Heechul had left Super Junior. However, as Label SJ clarified, Heechul is still participating in Super Junior albums by recording, taking part in jacket photoshoots, MV filming, etc.