Heeseung, a member of the K-pop group ENHYPEN, will depart from the group to pursue a solo career.
Belift Lab, a subsidiary of the entertainment conglomerate Hybe announced on March 10 that Heeseung would be leaving ENHYPEN on the group’s Weverse page. The notice stated that the team’s plans for the future did not align, prompting Heeseung’s departure.
“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,” Belift Lab said in their announcement.
The company’s announcement sparked worldwide shock among ENGENEs, the group’s fandom name.
“At first, I was in disbelief, almost like no reaction, because that was how shocked I was,” said Carlmont senior Kathleen Lin.
Belift Lab further explained in their notice that ENHYPEN would continue as a six-member group, consisting of members Jungwon, Jay, Jake, Sunghoon, Sunoo, and Ni-ki. But to ENGENEs, the idea of an ENHYPEN with only six members was unthinkable.
“I still associate them all together,” said Keira Emberly, a Carlmont freshman. “Like, you say Heeseung, I think of ENHYPEN.”
After Belift Lab announced his departure, Heeseung also posted a notice on the group’s Weverse page, answering some of the many questions.
“ENGENE, as you all know, I’ve been working on my personal work, and I’ve spent a lot of time hoping to show it to ENGENE,” Heeseung said. “There were a lot of things I wanted to show, but I also didn’t want to put my greed ahead of the team.”
Despite his personal message, many ENGENEs doubt the company’s and artist’s choice, questioning the true intentions behind Heeseung’s departure.
“Honestly, I could see Belift Lab trying to make a profit by splitting Heeseung from the rest of the group since he’s already really popular on his own,” said Emi Matsumura, a Carlmont freshman.
According to Circle Chart, ENHYPEN has sold over 20 million albums since their debut in 2020. In addition, their album, “The Sin: Vanish,” which was released earlier this year, sold 1.6 million copies in just a single day. Of course, their success is not simply a coincidence in 2026.
After their debut in 2020 through the reality survival show “I-Land,” the group continued to succeed, earning multiple awards, including Rookie of the Year at the Golden Disc Awards and Best New Male Artist at the Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA), both in just a year. In 2022, they became the fastest K-pop group to reach one billion streams on Spotify and even embarked on their first world tour.
But with success comes a cost.
“Fans have been saying that ENHYPEN has been too overworked and that they don’t really get to catch a break, and since that’s the case, then maybe the company convinced Heeseung that he wouldn’t have the time to balance both group and solo activities,” said Carlmont sophomore Alexis Gee. “But realistically, I feel like they could have navigated their way around that, as many other companies have done before.”
Group members pursuing solo activities is not uncommon in the K-pop industry, as the majority become soloists in the latter half of their music careers.
“There are so many other artists who have had solo careers within their group careers, like Blackpink, Twice, Tomorrow X Together, ITZY, and many other groups, so I don’t really understand why it wouldn’t be possible for ENHYPEN too,” Lin said.
With unrest from ENGENEs circulating across the internet and the little information given to the public, it’s also important to remember that the news is still in the early stages of speculation among fans.
“Don’t believe everything you see online, especially with people claiming that they know inside information about the group members,” Emberly said. “I think the only evidence we have is Heeseung’s letter, even if people are speculating that it wasn’t written by him. But we don’t know anything for sure, so just hold on.”
Ultimately, it’s the ENGENE fandom’s utmost priority to support the artist and the group, no matter what the future holds.
“Of course, selfishly, I would want ENHYPEN to continue making music for a long time as a group of seven members, because I think they’ve made a very positive impact on a lot of people’s lives,” Gee said. “But, as people, I think that since they’ve brought people so much happiness, of course, they deserve to be happy themselves. So if it’s their full decision, not the company’s decision, but their personal decision. If they want to pursue other paths, then I think they should do it. If that means going into other projects, then I will still support them.”
