For years, Mark seemed almost inseparable from NCT.
He debuted with NCT U.
He became part of NCT 127.
He became one of the most recognizable members of NCT DREAM.
Then, in April 2026, something happened that many fans never expected.
Mark left.
Not just SM Entertainment.
He ended his activities with NCT entirely, including both NCT 127 and NCT DREAM.
Four months later, another announcement arrived.
Every remaining member of NCT DREAM decided to stay.
So what happened?
Why did Mark leave while all six other NCT DREAM members renewed their contracts with SM?
Mark Didn’t Simply Leave SM
This distinction matters.
K-pop idols sometimes leave their agencies while continuing to participate in their groups.
That isn’t what happened here.
SM Entertainment announced that Mark’s exclusive contract would end on April 8, 2026, and that he would also conclude all activities as a member of NCT.
NCT DREAM would continue with:
Renjun, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, Chenle and Jisung.
For fans who had watched Mark move between multiple NCT units for nearly a decade, the announcement was enormous.
On Reddit, the news immediately generated a megathread with more than a thousand upvotes.
One of the recurring reactions was essentially:
Mark was the last member people expected to leave first.
And that reaction makes sense.
Mark wasn’t a peripheral member of the NCT system.
He was everywhere.
But Mark’s Explanation Wasn’t About NCT Falling Apart
Mark’s own explanation changes the story.
In his letter to fans, he reflected on his 10 years with NCT and described reaching a point where he wanted to discover more clearly what his own music and creative identity could become.
He also emphasized that the NCT members had listened to his concerns and supported his decision.
That’s important.
There is no official evidence that Mark left because NCT DREAM itself was collapsing.
In fact, what happened next suggests almost the opposite.
Four Months Later, Every Other NCT DREAM Member Renewed
On August 20, SM Entertainment announced that Renjun, Jeno, Jaemin, Chenle and Jisung had renewed their contracts.
Haechan had already renewed earlier.
That meant all six current members of NCT DREAM were staying with SM Entertainment.
SM specifically pointed to the members’ mutual trust and commitment to continuing together as NCT DREAM when announcing the renewals.
So within only a few months, fans saw two seemingly opposite decisions.
Mark: leave.
Everyone else: stay.
But those decisions may not actually contradict each other.
Maybe Mark Wasn’t Running Away From NCT DREAM
This is where the story becomes much more interesting.
Mark didn’t disappear after leaving SM.
He built something of his own.
He established Upper Room, a one-person creative company formed with trusted longtime collaborators, and became its co-chief executive.
Then on September 10, he released “My Friend,” his first new solo song since leaving NCT.
That makes Mark’s decision look less like:
“I don’t want NCT DREAM anymore.”
And more like:
“I want to find out what Mark looks like outside NCT.”
Those are very different stories.
Meanwhile, NCT DREAM Chose Continuity
The other six members made a different choice.
They stayed.
NCT DREAM debuted in August 2016, meaning the contract decision arrived around the group’s 10th anniversary.
That’s a significant point in any K-pop group’s career.
The members are no longer rookies trying to establish their names.
They already have a decade of shared history and songs including “Hot Sauce,” “Hello Future” and “Beatbox.”
The question becomes less about whether they can leave.
It’s about whether continuing together still makes sense.
For the remaining six members, the answer was apparently yes.
Fans Had to Process Two Truths at Once
The Reddit reaction shows why this situation felt strange.
Mark had become so closely associated with NCT that some fans struggled to imagine the group without him.
Yet when the remaining DREAM members renewed, fans also celebrated the confirmation that the six-member lineup would continue together.
Both reactions can exist at the same time.
Fans can miss Mark.
And NCT DREAM can continue.
Mark can pursue an independent career.
And his former members can decide that staying together is right for them.
That’s what makes this more interesting than a typical contract-renewal story.
Mark Left. NCT DREAM Stayed.
Usually, K-pop contract stories are framed around one question:
Will the group stay together or break up?
NCT DREAM gave fans a much stranger answer.
One of its most recognizable members left.
Then every remaining member renewed.
And Mark didn’t simply move to another agency—he created his own company and started building an independent career.
So maybe the real question isn’t:
“Why did Mark leave when everyone else stayed?”
It might be:
“After 10 years together, did Mark and NCT DREAM simply need different things?”
We don’t know every private reason behind those individual decisions, and neither Mark nor SM has provided such a detailed comparison.
But one thing is now clear.
Mark chose a new beginning.
NCT DREAM chose to continue.
And after a decade together, both stories are only beginning again.