Highlights
- Ten will run solo activities through Illimnt while continuing NCT and WayV promotions under SM.
- NCT 127's seventh studio album arrives August 24 with a five-member lineup.
- The release falls in the sub-unit's tenth anniversary year and is its first since Mark's exit.
Three months after concluding his exclusive contract with SM Entertainment, Ten officially launched his creative company Illimnt on July 6. According to the company, Illimnt will operate as a creative hub spanning music, visual arts, fashion, original content, and brand partnerships, with projects planned this year across South Korea, Thailand, China, and the United States. Though his contract with SM ended on April 8, Ten will continue group promotions with NCT and its Chinese sub-unit, WayV, under the agency.
The arrangement follows a model set by BLACKPINK's Lisa, who founded Lloud in February 2024 to manage her solo career while promoting with the group under YG Entertainment, and Jennie, who operates through her own label Odd Atelier. It contrasts with Mark, whose contract with SM Entertainment ended the same day as Ten's. Mark left NCT entirely to establish his own label, Upper Room, and focus on his solo career.
NCT 127 confirms comeback after Ten's label launch
South Korean outlet Mydaily reported on July 7 that NCT 127 will release its seventh studio album on August 24, a date SM Entertainment confirmed to Dispatch. The album is the group's first full-length release in two years since Walk, which extended its run of consecutive million-selling albums to seven. The release also falls in the sub-unit's tenth anniversary year; NCT 127 debuted on July 7, 2016.
The comeback will feature a five-member lineup of Johnny, Taeyong, Yuta, Jaehyun, and Haechan. Taeyong and Jaehyun recently completed South Korea's mandatory military service in the Navy and Army marching bands, respectively. Doyoung and Jungwoo, who enlisted in December 2025, will sit out the release.
With Ten beginning solo activities under Illimnt and NCT 127 returning in August, SM's largest boy group franchise now runs on parallel tracks: independent labels for departing soloists, agency-managed comebacks for the units.
