Heeseung has departed from K-pop boy group ENHYPEN to pursue a solo career. This was confirmed on March 10 by the entertainment agency and record label BELIFT LAB on X and the global fan platform Weverse.

“Through in-depth discussions with each of the members about the future they envision and the direction of the team, it became clear that HEESEUNG has his own distinct musical vision and we have decided to respect it,” the company stated in the announcement. 

Shortly after, Heeseung connected with ENGENES, ENHYPEN’s fanbase, sharing a handwritten note to address the news personally. Acknowledging that many fans were likely surprised and curious about the sudden notice, he wrote: “I made a big decision to approach ENGENE in a better way according to the direction the company suggested…There were a lot of things I wanted to show, but I also didn’t want to put my greed ahead of the team.” 

Now, a six-member group, ENHYPEN’s Jungwon, Jay, Jake, Sunghoon, Sunoo and Ni-Ki will begin their 2026-27 World Tour “BLOOD SAGA” for the remaining year and a half of their initial seven-year contract, having debuted on November 30, 2020.

The announcement shocked the entire K-Pop industry, considering Heeseung was the oldest member, center, and main vocalist, widely known as the “ace” of the group. This departure was particularly heavy for long dedicated fans of ENHYPEN, because the group was formed on the survival show I-Land, where the lineup was built on months of competition and millions of global fan votes. Having watched the members work so hard to debut together, many were devastated by the breakup of the original seven. Additionally, ENHYPEN has also achieved global recognition recently, from performing at Coachella to hitting No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with their newest album THE SIN:VANISH. The sudden removal of a critical member unsurprisingly generated intense backlash.

Heeseung’s departure has resulted in one of the largest fan mobilizations in K-pop. Over two million signatures on change.org petitioned for Heeseung to remain in the group even while pursuing solo activities. Hundreds of fans led on-site protests and sent protest trucks in front of the HYBE headquarters, and even displayed the message “Bring back Heeseung” on Times Square billboard screens in New York.

However, some fans have clearly overstepped by spamming hashtags on posts from other idols under HYBE to persuade the company to bring back Heeseung, even though these celebrities don’t have the authority to do anything.

“It’s a bit parasocial in a way,” Sophia Ou (12) said. “It’s interesting to see this in the context of how Danielle was kicked out of NewJeans, which was also very dramatic. I remember they wanted Mr. Beast to help, which was so absurd. That displays the lengths fans are willing to go for a member to stay in a group, even though you can never really know the true reasons why they left.”

ENHYPEN fans also blamed K-pop producer El Capitxn for Heeseung’s departure, who previously collaborated with Heeseung on “Highway 1009,” a song from ENHYPEN’s 2nd studio album, ROMANCE:UNTOLD. El Capitxn criticized the fanbase for thoughtlessly expressing outrage at the wrong people. 

Similarly, fans organized spam calls and emails to the Korean National Pension Service (NPS), hoping its influence as a major shareholder would force HYBE to reverse Heeseung’s departure. This behavior resulted in a crash of NPS’s support lines, disrupting Korean citizens in need of financial support for old age, disability or death. 

The collective anger and disappointment from fans stems from speculation that Heeseung’s departure was involuntary. His exit sparked theories of his “forced” removal as a potential distraction from recently uncovered unfair trade and fraud scandals surrounding HYBE’s chairman, Bang Si-Hyuk. Others guess it is part of a scheme of corporate greed; since Heeseung remains under BELIFT LAB, the company could maximize profits by managing Heeseung as a soloist while continuing ENHYPEN as a six-member group.

To support these suspicions, fans cite the vague wording of Heeseung’s farewell note (“direction the company suggested”). They also point to the company’s obvious lack of coordination, suggesting a last-minute decision rather than a planned exit. Just one day before the announcement, Heeseung attended a fan sign in China. His flight to Australia was then abruptly canceled just three days before a concert, despite him rehearsing and promoting the event for weeks. Further fueling the forced removal theory, BELIFT LAB quickly halted the release of the remaining En O’Clock (ENHYPEN’s reality show) episodes for March that had been filmed in advance with Heeseung. Fans also find it suspicious that the remaining six members have noticeably avoided mentioning his name in any recent content, unlike how Mark Lee’s departure from SM Entertainment and NCT on April 3rd has received support from all the members.

“I think some speculation could be true, but I feel like fans are reading a little too much into it,” ENHYPEN fan Elaine Ji (9) said. “I’ve seen on Instagram that they’ve taken innocent things that other members have said and twisted them to make it sound like one thing or another. That’s taking it a bit too far.”

Another source of fan outrage is the fact that other HYBE K-pop idols, like TXT’s Yeonjun, have successfully participated in both group and solo activities. Yeonjun released his debut solo mini-album NO LABELS: PART 01 on Nov. 7, 2025, and all members of BTS and many of SEVENTEEN have also dropped solo albums or singles.

“If they could provide that opportunity for Yeonjun, then why not provide it for Heeseung?” Ava Cruz (11), a fan of ENHYPEN since 2022, said. “It seemed unfair for him and his group, especially because it was something that Heeseung was thinking about a lot. It’s hard to leave something you’ve been a part of for six years.”

Yet, the real issue is why such a decision was made. A few days after posting the official statement, the company reconfirmed that Heeseung would not return in response to growing fan resentment. However, one detail in the follow-up statement caught fans’ attention: the claim that ENHYPEN’s “extremely demanding” schedule makes it impossible for members to balance solo projects with group activities. Fans fired back, slamming HYBE’s inability to manage artist schedules.

“They were overworked and were doing a lot of concerts,” Ava said. “I can understand why he wanted to take a break or focus on solo activities. It was their dream [to debut as idols]. But it kind of looks like they’re not as passionate as they seemed in the beginning. It’s kind of sad to watch them and see them perform.”

With this in mind, is it even considerate of fans to fight for his return if it means sending him back to an environment that has failed him in the first place? Should one consider whether it is acceptable to support the K-pop industry, while knowing that the industry tends to overwork or mistreat idols?

“Since the industry is so toxic, it’s important to know and recognize that, but at the same time, most people don’t want to think too hard about where their music comes from,” Sophia said. “Sort of like the way a lot of clothes are from fast fashion or sweatshops.”

Because these conditions are so normalized, fans often accept them as part of the industry rather than question them, because there is little they can do. While idols rely on their fans to achieve their dreams, that same support also retains the pressures that harm them.

Four weeks have passed since the announcement of Heeseung’s departure. While some fans continue to fight for Heeseung’s return, others have gradually accepted the change.

“As a fan, try not to drag other groups or fans of other groups into it, because that just causes unnecessary arguments,” Elaine said. “There isn’t much you can do except support them as much as you can, no matter what happens.”