Yesterday morning (August 28), South Korean talent agency SM Entertainment abruptly announced the dismissal of singer Taeil from hit boy-band NCT following investigations into an alleged sexual offence that took place earlier this year. While very little has been disclosed about the ongoing case, it would appear that Taeil’s exit was announced just hours after the star was questioned by police, and a matter of days after both were made aware of the allegations.

NCT itself stands for ‘Neo Culture Technology’ and is somewhat of an experimental take on the K-pop group formula. Their membership is said to be unlimited, instead based around distinct subgroups within the collective which are formed around various genres and concepts. Accused singer Taeil featured in NCT’s debut subgroup, NCT U, with their first single “Without You” back in 2016. He then debuted as part of NCT’s second subgroup, NCT 127, later that year, and remained a mainstay on both rosters up until yesterday’s allegations.

Also enjoying a strong solo career, which saw the accused contribute original music to South Korean TV series Twenty-five, Twenty-one and Netflix’s Song of the Bandits, Taeil remains one of NCT’s most high-profile members. In 2021, the singer set the then-Guinness World Record for fastest account to reach a million followers on Instagram, hitting seven figures in just one hour and 45 minutes after the creation of the account.

The official Instagram account for the nebulous boy band has already unfollowed Taeil in the wake of the allegations, as have fellow members Haechan and Taeyong – the latter of which also purging all of his followed accounts and removing any images featuring Taeil from his profile. Whether the star’s contract with SM Entertainment has been terminated altogether, however, is yet to be announced.