NCT’s Moon Taeil has admitted to charges of aggravated rape as of June 18. He has been formally indicted and now faces up to seven years in prison. In a move that shocked long-time listeners, SM Entertainment confirmed Taeil’s removal from all NCT activities in August last year. The company’s statement read, “We have recently confirmed that Taeil has been implicated in a criminal case related to sexual crime. While looking into the situation, we recognized that the issue is very serious, and we have decided that Taeil could no longer continue team activities.”
The K-pop industry is no longer untouched by criminal scrutiny. Following this year’s shocking allegations involving actor Kim Soo-hyun, Taeil’s indictment marks yet another reckoning for South Korean entertainment. Once a key vocalist for NCT, he now stands at the center of one of the most disturbing criminal cases to emerge from K-pop in recent years.
Filipino fans, like many around the world, reacted with disbelief and outrage. Online discussions quickly turned to questions of justice, with some users sarcastically comparing the seven-year sentence to the weight of the crime. People following the developments of Taeil’s case didn’t hold back with their reactions with the result of the indictment with one user posting on X, “Rape should get more than 127 years, not just seven.” 127 refers to the NCT 127 sub-unit, where Taeil used to be a member.
Idol industries everywhere depend on projection, image, and emotional investment. But once an artist crosses the line, fans deserve transparency, not silence or deflection. These conversations already began in South Korea years ago. In 2019, Jung Joon-young was convicted of secretly filming sexual encounters and was sentenced to six years in prison. The same year, the Burning Sun scandal exposed a network of sexual violence, drug use, and police corruption. The scandal involved some of the industry’s biggest stars and forced fans to confront the darker corners of idol culture.
