SM Issues Statement Following Accusations Made Against NCT's Taeyong

SM Entertainment has issued a statement after accusations were made against NCT’s Taeyong about alleged actions in middle school.

Warning: Mention of self-harm. 

On September 18, Wikitree reported that someone (referred to as “B”) claiming to be a classmate of Taeyong from his second year of middle school had witnessed him taking part in the bullying of another classmate (referred to as “A”) that was carried out by a group of students. “B” wrote that Taeyong had not been the leader of the group but had aided the leader in the bullying. They went on to say, “One day ‘A’ could not take [the bullying from the group] anymore and threw a chair.” They continued, “During the next class, they self-harmed by cutting their hand with a box cutter.”

In an additional report, Wikitree also shared a chat conversation between “B” and another participant in the bullying of “A,” who confirmed that they remembered the incident. The original post also included allegations that Taeyong made disparaging comments about others based on their looks, which have now been removed by the poster.

On September 19, SM Entertainment released a statement regarding the recent allegations about Taeyong. It appears to also refer to issues that came to light prior to his debut such as scams conducted via online trading sites, which Taeyong has apologized for in the past.

The statement reads:

In regards to the report about Taeyong, since it was something that happened 10 years ago in 2009, as his agency we requested a confirmation of records from his family, such as his middle school student records, in order to fully comprehend the situation.

The records were confirmed to show that there was no mention of what was talked about in the report and no record of disciplinary action, and his parents also did not have a meeting with his teacher regarding what was mentioned in the report.

Taeyong has deeply regretted the way he behaved without discretion and said hurtful things while he was in middle school before he began to dream of being a singer, and he has said both while he was a trainee and after his debut that he apologizes to everyone who was hurt. Now as well, he continues to self-reflect, and he works hard and does his best in regards to everything.

Taeyong once again is deeply self-reflecting on causing concern over events from when he was younger, he will feel a greater sense of responsibility, and he will live in an upright manner.

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