NCT’s Winwin: Accused of Neglecting Group Activities Due to SM’s Actions?

NCT’s sub-unit Way V, primarily active in the Chinese market, is finally making a comeback in June after almost a year since their 2nd album release. However, on May 10th, Label V, the subsidiary of SM and the management company of WayV, announced that member Winwin will not be participating in this comeback due to his busy filming schedules in China.

Upon discovering this, several fans took to Weibo to express their frustration, calling for Winwin to depart from the group and even making threats to withdraw their support. They believed that the male idol prioritized his personal endeavors over the group’s activities.

Despite facing controversy, Winwin took to social media to personally clarify that he had received information about WayV’s plans to prepare for a new album in May. This led him to prioritize completing his personal schedule from January to April in order to participate in the group’s upcoming comeback.

Despite having to work on important scenes for a new filming project, Winwin was unable to handle the delay in the album preparation process, which was pushed back to late March by the production team for unknown reasons. Despite feeling deceived by the company, he still apologized and expressed his wishes for a successful comeback for WayV.

Winwin’s clarification only served to further fuel the anger of netizens towards Label V’s mishandling of the situation. This is not the first instance of the male idol facing repercussions from the company in such a manner.

Despite possessing handsome looks, good dancing abilities, and a decent voice, Winwin has not been given the opportunity to fully showcase his talents. Although he made his debut with NCT 127 in 2016 and later became a core member of WayV, he has only appeared in a handful of group activities. With each comeback, the male idol receives minimal singing lines and extremely limited screen time, hindering his potential to shine.

Initially, it was believed that his presence in WayV would attract more attention, but the group’s schedules did not feature Winwin, causing speculation about his current involvement with the group.

It is difficult for many to believe the amount of effort SM put into recruiting Winwin, given the way they treat him.

Winwin’s exceptional talent in Dance Performance led him to rank first at the Beijing Dance Academy and even win the prestigious national Classical Dance competition in China. This caught the attention of SM, who received 7 audition requests from them. Despite his limited proficiency in Korean at the time, Winwin debuted after only 1 year of training. He has also gained a significant fan base within NCT, with the largest number of followers on his personal Weibo account out of all the members.

The stark difference in the way SM has treated Winwin before and after his debut has caused great confusion among fans. Some fans have even expressed their wish for Winwin to leave the group and pursue better opportunities in his home country, rather than continue to endure the cold treatment he has received.

The complete statement made by Winwin is as follows:

“I was initially informed that preparations for the new album would begin in May, but at the end of last year, I received news that it had been postponed to late March. This sudden change conflicted with my involvement in a new film from January to April of this year. Despite my efforts to find a solution and join WayV’s activities, the timing did not align, and I regretfully could not be a part of their comeback. I want to express my sincerest apologies to Wayzenni (WayV’s fandom) and all my supporters. I am confident in WayV’s success and will continue to support them from here on out.”

K14 is the source of information on Weibo.