[Trigger Warning: Mentions of Sexual Abuse]
“Not all men, but always a man.”
The K-pop community has been shaken to the core, now restlessly following the shocking revelation that Taeil, the former main vocalist for NCT and its sub-unit NCT 127, has departed from the group after being accused of sexual offense. SM Entertainment announced the news on August 28, 2024, and has since been all over social media.
SM엔터테인먼트입니다. pic.twitter.com/28XapiFuOk
— SMTOWN (@SMTOWNGLOBAL) August 28, 2024
SM Entertainment did not reveal any other sensitive information surrounding the accusations, but acknowledged that due to the gravity of the situation, it was determined that he [Moon Tae-il] can no longer continue his activities as a member of NCT.
Taeil is also said to be in full cooperation with the police investigation.
The brief statement sent the K-pop community and the NCTzen fandom into a frenzy, with majority of the reactions being of absolute shock.
it's scary how you can idolize someone who is actually a bad person but you have no idea because their job centers around making you fall inlove with them
— عام آدمی (@Mango_peopel) August 28, 2024
fuck taeil and fuck men
— ً (@neotfy) August 28, 2024
I’m so disappointed.. imagine the members busy practicing while thinking he’s home resting but he doing a shit things. Oh my god. I’m mad.
— 𝘴𝘩𝘺𝘳’ ᵔⰙᵔ⠕ (@bambeshy) August 28, 2024
https://twitter.com/flwrgrlpop/status/1828746563100766607
taeil’s involvement in a sex crime is genuinely disgusting given his large female fanbase. i hope the victims get the justice and support they need and i wish he receives the WORST punishment possible. theres a special place in hell for him.
— jc (@214fix) August 28, 2024
taeil leaving nct for being accused in a sex crime is actually the most insane most shocking thing i have ever read like i’m so disappointed
— kails 🥃💋 (@lovesgolden) August 28, 2024
"Because of you, NCT will have to wear the title of sexual predator for the rest of their lives" I can't even think properly but please read this pic.twitter.com/fxEU9rxQa3
— neo⁺¹ #pissmaker (@streetstarjiung) August 28, 2024
taeil is last person i would expect what the fuck
— • ness • (@tbzdoremi) August 28, 2024
SM Entertainment is also notorious in the K-pop fan community for being slow to react with regards to its artists’ cases. Seeing how swift their reaction and decision was to drop Taeil from NCT as well as the lack of rumors surrounding him then, fans assumed that all the allegations were true.
SM has never acted so fast to drop a male idol before. They supported Lucas and even gave him a solo debut. What did Taeil do that made SM cut him loose so quickly, even before any news broke? It must be something serious.
— Maeve (@maevenNsolitude) August 28, 2024
no sm artist has been fired despite all the accusations they had which means taeil must’ve done the craziest shit ever i hope this man goes to prison https://t.co/zXytNtDXQ5
— Mel ✨ (@melriing) August 28, 2024
this is the first time i saw sm released a statement about their artist before any rumors spread out first.. wow
— 슬린 (@seurrene_) August 28, 2024
the company has never acted this fast before. no apology, no hiatus, but straight to termination. i am heartbroken. i hope the victim get the justice they deserve.
— ▪️ (@misternosferatu) August 28, 2024
On August 29, 2024, the Seoul Bangbae Police Station revealed some information surrounding the investigation they have done. Taeil had been charged with alleged sexual offense after being reported by a legal adult woman “A” in June 2024.
SM Entertainment also commented on the information revealed by the police, after rumors had spread saying that they had willingly allowed Taeil to continue his promotions with the group. A source from the agency said that both they and Taeil had learned about the charges very recently in mid-August, and that Taeil had been questioned by the police on the 28th.
This is the reason for Tae-il’s presence during some of NCT 127’s promotional activities for their newest album, “Walk” and their recently concluded 8th anniversary fanmeeting from August 3 to 4, 2024.
240829 [INFO] SM side “We first became aware of Taeil’s sexual assault accusation in mid-August, and a police investigation was held on the 28th” [Official statement]
SM Entertainment announced that they became aware of Taeil's lawsuit in mid-August. pic.twitter.com/dEG3gRRAlx
— NCT 127 Central (@127CENTRAL) August 29, 2024
NCTzens, especially 127zens, felt betrayed by Taeil and did not waste time in letting their disgust be known. Other known Taeil-fan accounts immediately “closed” their accounts, stating that they can no longer be fans of a sexual offender.
deserve mo pala mabalian ng buto kingina ka taeil nakiget well soon pa ako sayong hayup ka
— —tine saw riize, xg, and dreamies 🥹🩵 (@xiaokunloml) August 28, 2024
Lord hear me out. Take away all of our sufferings. Double them, triple them, quadruple them, and give it to Moon Taeil.
— 아야 (@jeongyunonly) August 28, 2024
its scary bc it felt like taeil like barely existed in the group other than to sing so you'd never suspect him and it was shocking but also not at the same time bc i guess the reason he never did anything was because he was too busy committing sex crimes
— rina (@kittytenz) August 28, 2024
to the women in taeil’s life, to the girls who trusted him, to his mother, and his younger sister, i wish u nothing but peace and healing and i am so sorry
— kaylene ❀ ✶ ☘︎ (@sohvvpy) August 28, 2024
“i love taeil i can’t let go of him” his best friend of 17 YEARS even gave up on him with no hesitation
— ً (@neotfy) August 28, 2024
korean men are so disgusting. burning sun, the telegram room that included pictures of SCHOOL girls, taeil having one of the most disgusting cases imo, the amount of women & girls getting assaulted there. free korean women from these vile creatures
— xo, livie 𝜗𝜚 enha fan (@heespath) August 28, 2024
"taeil is the last person i would've expected to-" WE DONT KNOW THESE PPL AND THIS PROVES ONCE AGAIN THAT WE DONT!!!!
— renjun mother (@tyomibff) August 28, 2024
i really hope that other male celebrities will be exposed just like taeil, because i’m 10000% sure he’s not the only one involved in those kind of crimes. all scumbags need to fall.
— yas 𓃬 (@yasminaaaaa9) August 28, 2024
Taeil was the last person i was expecting to be involved in s*x crimes of any sort. This is upsetting and i have no words. My trust in men is lower and lower every fucking day.
— Riverside (@Riverside881133) August 28, 2024
K-pop fans also aired out their expressing their disappointment on how there may be more male K-pop idols like Taeil. It is known that South Korea is also currently facing a deepfake porn crisis, with the issue only being made known just recently.
Btw expect more names to come out. Taeil was probably not the only K-pop idol doing what he was doing.
— yastopher🥐 (@folklaris) August 28, 2024
do yall realise how many male idols are probably just like taeil and we have no idea that they are like this
— iuly🥠 saw skz 07/12☆★🍉 (@yongIixxie) August 28, 2024
the taeil news coming out while there’s a whole discussion going on about korean men being disgusting is so unsettling to me
— ً (@biglayoverfan) August 28, 2024
stanning nct from predebut til this day you wouldnt expect something like this from taeil, just simply shows we do not know anything about these guys other than their whole idol persona, we really cannot trust any man at all
— yen🃏 (@ltynavy) August 28, 2024
all of this during the exposing of those gcs and overall rise in abuse by south korean men against women. i bet many male idols are complicit or just as guilty as taeil what a vile country
— 🐈⬛ (@jjkwoos) August 28, 2024
Let this controversy be a wake up call for all K-pop fans out there—we don’t know our idols behind the camera. We can’t be too complacent about how these people act in front of us because we don’t know who they actually are and how they are in private.
The fact that this has shocked many who thought that Taeil was a “green flag” especially to his team members is a sign that we cannot at all times trust male K-pop idols. It hurts see this happen, but we can never be too sure about the others.
All of us should be more vigilant now more than ever, especially with the unfolding of the deepfake sex crimes in South Korea. Everyone, and we mean everyone, should be human first before fans, and always side with the victims of sexual crimes.
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