Updated June 21 KST:
NCT’s Renjun has personally apologized via his Instagram. His post reads as follows:
I apologize to the person who was negatively affected by my reckless behavior yesterday. I have always wanted to bring positive energy through music and performances, but I think I made a poor decision due to a lapse in judgment.
I sincerely apologize to the individual who was hurt and negatively impacted by my actions. Due to my reckless behavior, the victim is suffering right now. Please kindly stop contacting the victim.
I deeply regret my actions and will be more careful not to act impulsively in the future. Once again, I apologize to anyone who was hurt by my actions.
Original Article:
SM Entertainment has issued an apology after NCT’s Renjun mistakenly revealed someone’s phone number, thinking it belonged to a sasaeng.
Earlier on June 11, NCT’s Renjun, who is on a temporary hiatus due to health issues and anxiety, candidly voiced his frustration over ongoing sasaeng issue through the fan communication platform Bubble. He cited incidents where sasaengs illegally obtained his personal schedule, sat next to him on flights, and took photos of him while he was asleep. Following this, he declared his intention to publicly reveal sasaengs’ phone numbers if they continued to contact him.
On June 20, individual A mistakenly called Renjun’s number, thinking it belonged to an acquaintance. After Renjun threatened to report the number, he publicly disclosed the number on Bubble.
A later explained via X, “I want to make it clear that I am absolutely not a sasaeng of NCT, and I have no interest in any idol or celebrity. I was surprised when [Renjun] said he’d report [my number], but I thought, ‘Has [my friend] changed their number?’ After receiving abusive messages and calls, I searched ‘sasaeng’ on Twitter [X] just in case, and saw that Renjun had posted my phone number on Bubble, claiming I was a sasaeng. After realizing this, I went to the police station. The investigator asked if I had been making continuous calls, to which I clarified I had only called once by mistake and handed over my phone records.”
A mentioned the police contacted Renjun’s manager, who apologized on Renjun’s behalf. However, Renjun reportedly declined to apologize directly, expressing concern that A might still be a sasaeng. A added, “A few hours later, the investigator informed me that SM’s legal team was going to apologize, but I haven’t received any apology call yet. I’ve had to endure abusive messages from strangers and change my phone number just because of a mistaken call. I demand a proper explanation from SM.”
On June 21, SM Entertainment released the following statement:
Hello, this is SM Entertainment.
On June 20, Renjun mistakenly thought an unknown number that called him was from a sasaeng and exposed it on a fan communication platform. We sincerely apologize for revealing their contact information on a public platform, and to the person negatively affected by this.
After learning that the victim had contacted the local police station, we immediately apologized through the investigating officer and took steps to remove the post. We will continue to work to prevent any further harm and kindly ask that people refrain from contacting the victim.
Renjun is deeply reflecting on his careless actions, and we also sincerely apologize for our shortcomings in managing our artist. We once again apologize for causing concern to the victim and many others.