Korean netizens question the lack of follow-up articles on Taeil after shocking removal from NCT over sexual crime charges

AKP STAFF

Recently, K-pop fans have been buzzing with speculation over the sudden removal of Taeil from NCT due to allegations of sexual assault.

The news broke on August 28 and sent shockwaves through the K-pop community, as SM Entertainment announced that Taeil would no longer be part of NCT following accusations of involvement in a sexual crime. However, despite the initial wave of coverage, there has been a noticeable lack of follow-up articles or updates about the case. This has led to widespread curiosity and concern among Korean netizens as they expressed fear of the lack of articles.

One netizen began the discussion in a popular online community and wrote, "The fact that nothing about Taeil has been revealed yet is terrifying. There are no follow-up articles either."

Korean netizens commented:

"Even unknown groups like TST have articles about sexual crimes."

"It hasn't even been a week since the first police investigation. The police stated that if the details of the case are revealed, the public might be able to guess who the victim is. The victim needs to be protected throughout the ongoing investigations and prosecution process."

"Don't defend this just because it's a lesser-known member. Even though he's an unpopular member of NCT, it's still NCT. Revealing the details of the case doesn't mean the victim's identity will be known. SM is just trying hard to block everything."

"What are the comments below saying? This isn't about whether someone gets criticized or not. The issue is serious, but nothing has been revealed. Who asked for specific details?"

"It's strange to think this way just because the police aren't revealing anything out of concern that the suspect might be identified. What's the point of knowing the details of a crime committed by someone who's already been kicked out? Find your dopamine elsewhere."

"If it's just the first police investigation, isn't there still not much to report? Journalists will need to understand the situation more before writing. It seems too early for that. Investigations don't wrap up in just a day or two. SM probably just wanted to release a statement quickly."

"Since there's a victim involved, there won't be much more to write about until the trial concludes. Unless the victim speaks to the media, there's nothing more to investigate because it's a sexual crime. It's up to the victim to speak out."

"That's true...? I check the ranking news more than five times a day, but even though he's been kicked out, I've only seen one or two articles about him being questioned by the police... What's going on?"

"If SM could block this much, they would've blocked all those articles during the heyday of Yoo Seung Joon. SM doesn't have that much power, haha. This is ridiculous."

"If a mid-sized company like SM can control the entire media, then how did articles about corruption and crimes involving large companies or politicians get out, haha? People switch between treating SM like a failed company or the ultimate villain based on their whims."