On May 24 KST, SM Entertainment suddenly announced the departure of members Sungchan and Shotaro from the boy group NCT.

According to the agency's statement, Sungchan and Shotaro will leave NCT in order to debut in a new boy group, which SM Entertainment is expected to launch by the third quarter of 2023.

Meanwhile, Sungchan and Shotaro debuted as members of NCT on October 12, 2020, as participants in the NCT 2020 album 'Resonance Pt. 1'. Although they joined the group two years and a half ago, the boys only participated in a few songs.

Korean netizens and fans have become shocked by the sudden news and commented,  "I no longer understand SM anymore," "I guess it's more important for them to find a solid position in a new group," "What is going on," "This news was so sudden," "These two members weren't that active," "This is so crazy," "They were so neglected and the time wasted is so much but I hope they become more active from now on," "Why did they add these two in the first place then?" and "This is so sad."