EXO-L ACE, a large Korean fandom of EXO, has released their collective statement demanding that Chen be removed from the group due to his recent marriage and pregnancy news.
The fans claim that Chen “deeply hurt” them, so SM Entertainment should kick him out of the group.
Chen, who deeply hurt and caused chaos to the fans, will only hurt the group’s image if he continues to promote with them.
We would like to announce our statement to request that SM Entertainment retract their decision to let Chen promote as a member of EXO and kick him out of the group.
— EXO-L ACE
They listed the reasons why they believe SM should kick him out, and their first reason was that the overall image of EXO has been “defamed” by Chen’s life choices.
First, the public image of EXO as a group has greatly been defamed.
Over many years, EXO maintained their top status but Chen’s selfish choices has deeply hurt their 9 years of hard work. Not even a day after Chen’s news, keywords like ‘wedding-idol’ and ‘married-idol’ were attached to reports about EXO. False rumors about the other members were also spread through gossip reports.
Chen’s individual behavior will form a permanent view on the group as a whole, and it will become difficult to continue marketing the group as idols. This damage will spread as long as it is allowed to continue.
— EXO-L ACE
The fandom is allegedly dividing as some fans are completely supportive of Chen’s choices while others feel betrayed. EXO-L ACE says the fandom can no longer be united because of the different views.
Second, EXO’s fandom is facing severe division and conflict. Over the past 9 years, despite the many issues and scandals that we faced, EXO-L have continued to show a united support at numerous offline and online-voting events for the sake of EXO as a group.
However, due to Chen’s unreasonably irresponsible actions, the fandom is falling apart.
The most basic foundation of a fandom is the trust in the members, but as that trust fell apart, a majority of the EXO-Ls can no longer support Chen anymore.
— EXO-L ACE
Lastly, EXO-L ACE believe that the group’s future promotions will hold a level of uncertainty from the “defamation” and “division”. They believe the only answer would be for Chen to leave the group.
Third, an uncertain group schedule will only harm the fandom and the artists. If Chen doesn’t leave the group, EXO-L can no longer give their all in supporting EXO with a comforted heart.
EXO fandom members who paid money to join the fandom sincerely wish for Chen to leave the group. This is the aftermath of the worries and fury the fans are facing due to Chen staying with the group and the group’s uncertain future promotions.
It’s a fact that this is causing harm to your entertainment agency’s growth. SM Entertainment needs to stop hoping for the unlikely and realize that they need to kick Chen out of the group for the group’s long-term and realistic future plans.
— EXO-L ACE
They’re giving SM until the 18th to respond to their statement and vowed to protest if SM continues to stay silent about the fans’ continued demands for Chen to leave the group.
If we don’t hear a response from the agency by January 18, EXO-L will use direct and indirect methods to protest.
— EXO-L ACE
Chen recently announced that he will be marrying his girlfriend who is currently 7-months pregnant with their first child. Despite the celebratory news, many Korean fans are outraged by Chen’s sudden and “delayed” news. While they demand for Chen to be removed from the group, a large group of EXO-Ls continue to support Chen as they defend his life’s choices and celebrate with him.
Read the full statement and full translation below:
<EXO-L ACE Collective Statement>
EXO-L ACE (referred from here after as EXO-L) has deemed that Chen, who deeply hurt and caused chaos to the fans, will only hurt the group’s image if he continues to promote with them. We would like to announce our statement to request that SM Entertainment retract their decision to let Chen promote as a member of EXO and kick him out of the group.
On January 13, Chen uploaded a unilateral letter on the fan community Lysn’s forum, where he announced that he ‘has a girlfriend that he wants to spend the rest of his life with’, that ‘they were blessed with a blessing’, and that he will be marrying his fiancée who is pregnant. The many fans who have trusted him for so long couldn’t help but be overcome with shock by his embarrassing and sudden letter.
Chen’s selfish actions mentioned above are creating a negative effect as listed below.
First, the public image of EXO as a group has greatly been defamed. Over many years, EXO maintained their top status but Chen’s selfish choices has deeply hurt their 9 years of hard work. Not even a day after Chen’s news, keywords like ‘wedding-idol’ and ‘married-idol’ were attached to reports about EXO. False rumors about the other members were also spread through gossip reports. Chen’s individual behavior will form a permanent view on the group as a whole, and it will become difficult to continue marketing the group as idols. This damage will spread as long as it is allowed to continue.
Second, EXO’s fandom is facing severe division and conflict. Over the past 9 years, despite the many issues and scandals that we faced, EXO-L have continued to show a united support at numerous offline and online-voting events for the sake of EXO as a group. However, due to Chen’s unreasonably irresponsible actions, the fandom is falling apart. If the fandom continues this way, they will eventually tire out. The most basic foundation of a fandom is the trust in the members, but as that trust fell apart, a majority of the EXO-Ls can no longer support Chen anymore. Idols’ fans are their main consumers, and if the consumers start dividing, it will cause a negative effect on the individual members, group, and agency.
Third, an uncertain group schedule will only harm the fandom and the artists. If Chen doesn’t leave the group, EXO-L can no longer give their all in supporting EXO with a comforted heart. Especially, EXO fandom members who paid money to join the fandom sincerely wish for Chen to leave the group. This is the aftermath of the worries and fury the fans are facing due to Chen staying with the group and the group’s uncertain future promotions. It’s a fact that this is causing harm to your entertainment agency’s growth. SM Entertainment needs to stop hoping for the unlikely and realize that they need to kick Chen out of the group for the group’s long-term and realistic future plans.
In summary of everything that we listed above, this is what we request from SM Entertainment.
First, we request Chen be removed from EXO.
Second, if EXO’s group activities have been dissolved or changed due to this incident, we request that they announce it with transparency and announce the correct schedules for the future.
Third, we ask that they take care of the artists’ protection and searched keywords on search sites.If we don’t hear a response from the agency by January 18, EXO-L will use direct and indirect methods to protest. As much as EXO is a significant part of SM Entertainment’s economic importance, we await their clear decision for their artists’ bright future.
— EXO-L ACE
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