Great news for EXO fans! SMTOWN has confirmed that there will be no changes to the group’s member lineup.
After member Chen revealed in January that he would soon be marrying and becoming a father, some fans grew angry over his actions and began to demand he leave the group. After online protests and trending hashtags by fans, as well as small protests in front of the SMTOWN building, the label had nothing more to say about the matter until today.
On February 20th, the label announced that they had spoken with the EXO members about the future of the group and their own thoughts on the member lineup. They revealed that the members had suffered pain in the past from members leaving the group. As such, EXO stated that they wanted to all continue on together as they have been until this point. As a result, SMTOWN respected their decision and announced that there would be no changes to the lineup, meaning that Chen would stay on as an active part of EXO.
In addition, SMTOWN revealed that with impending military enlistment for some of the members, it had been planned since last year that 2020 would be a year that focuses more on solo and unit activities. They stated that they would reveal the various activities one by one, but the members are dedicated to working hard to repay the love of fans in various activities as the group EXO, as well as solo artists and unit members. This news should come as no surprise as it was recently revealed that Suho will be releasing his first solo album, and Kai will be making his solo debut later as well.
With their new statement, SMTOWN makes their position clear on the future of EXO and the members by effectively telling haters and protesters that EXO will make the decisions about their own future and that Chen’s future with the group is no longer up for discussion.
Before the label’s statement was revealed, Chen also addressed fans once more by apologizing for what he felt was not handling his previous marriage announcement well. He apologized for the poor wording of his original statement that caused some disappointment and hurt, but he said that as he had never had to address a topic like this, he didn’t handle it as well as he should have.
With both his statement and SMTOWN’s, it seems that the members of EXO are ready to put this issue behind them and keep moving forward to the future with all members on board!
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Media: SMTOWN
Source: Naver, Naver 2