Just a month after the finale of reality show NCT Universe: LASTART, SM Entertainment has announced the departure of member Jungmin from NCT New Team.
On Monday, October 2, the agency announced that Jungmin will no longer debut with the group due to health reasons.
According to the label, the NCT New Team was preparing for their pre-debut tour that is set to start on October 8. However, Jungmin wasn’t able to participate in practice given his health condition.
SM엔터테인먼트입니다. pic.twitter.com/3LY31yLAQE
— SMTOWN (@SMTOWNGLOBAL) October 2, 2023
While the chosen pre-debut member was focusing on his treatment, SM Entertainment shared that they continue THEIR discussion with the aspiring idol’s family and medical staff.
“After deep consideration with Jungmin’s health as the top priority, Jungmin will not join NCT New Team,” they said. Additionally, the agency explained that he’ll return to being a trainee as he completely focus on recovery.
Moreover, they apologized to fans who felt shocked with the sudden news. But the agency also asked for continued support for Jungmin as he work on getting better.
With this, NCT New Team will continue with six members moving forward.
SM Entertainment announces JUNGMIN will not join NCT’s New Team due health concerns and will return as trainee to focus on recovery. The new unit will continue as 6 members. pic.twitter.com/y4gBZvgsa5
— Kpop Charts (@kchartsmaster) October 2, 2023
What we know about NCT New Team so far
In NCT Universe: LASTART, a total of 11 trainees underwent four rounds of missions showcasing their potential as K-pop idols. Super Junior’s Eunhyuk and soloist Boa served as art directors and mentors in the show.
Initially, SM Entertainment announced that NCT New Team will only have six members. But during the program’s last episode, it was revealed that the unit would have seven members instead.
Prior to the show, SMRookies members Sion and Yushi were already confirmed to be the part of the unit. The two have been fixed participants in all of the missions for the series.
Those who were included in the lineup were Riku, Sakuya, Daeyoung, Jungmin, and Ryo.
![[#라스타트] NCT NEW TEAM 프리 데뷔 멤버를 소개합니다! | NCT Universe : LASTART💫 [EN/JP]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FjUjpPrUV3Y/hqdefault.jpg)
As of writing, SM Entertainment has yet to reveal the debut details of NCT New Team.
But it can be recalled that the new unit participated in the NCT NATION concerts in Japan alongside other NCT units.
Moreover, SM Entertainment has earlier confirmed that the NCT New Team will be the last chapter to NCT’s limitless expansion concept. Previously, it was stated that the group would be called NCT Tokyo. But the agency has yet to unveil the group’s final name.
With Jungmin’s departure from NCT New Team, NCT will now have a total of 26 members in its six units instead. The six units are as follows: NCT 127, NCT Dream, Wayv, NCT U, NCT DoJaeJung, and the LASTART group.
Featured image: Jungmin in a scene still from ‘NCT Universe: The Lastart’ episode. Credit: Twitter/NCT Universe: The Lastart