EXO’s Lay announces departure from SM Entertainment in handwritten letter, fans wish him luck

Lay Zhang, a member of the South Korean-Chinese boy band Exo, has announced his departure from SM Entertainment. He has quit the Seoul-based media agency after a decade as his 10-year contract has ended. The musician shared a handwritten letter on his Instagram account on Friday that revealed his decision. Also Read| BTS: Jin’s performance to be limited at LA concert due to surgery; ARMY says his presence is ‘more than enough’

Zhang Yixing, better known as Lay Zhang or Lay, shared pictures of the letter, written in English and Korean and captioned it, “This decade is one of the greatest gifts I could’ve ever received.” The note read, “Ten years of growth. Thank you all. Thank you to my EXO brothers for your company and encouragement. Thanks to my colleagues at SM for witnessing every step of my growth and achievement. Thank you to all of my fans for your unconditional love and support.”

He continued in the letter, “It’s time to say goodbye as an employee of SM. It’s also my new beginning as a 30-year old. But I will always be the Lay when my members need me. I’m your family member in China, Zhang Yixing. Love you forever.”

Fans expressed their support to Lay in the comment section, with one writing, “Thank you Lay. We will love and support you always.” Another commented, “You’ll always be the ZHANG YIXING we all know and love.”

Lay’s exit coincides with the 10th anniversary of Exo, which consists of nine members: Xiumin, Suho, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen, Chanyeol, D.O., Kai, and Sehun. The K-pop band had originally debuted with twelve members separated into Exo-K (Suho, Baekhyun, Chanyeol, D.O., Kai, and Sehun) and Exo-M (Xiumin, Lay, Chen, Kris, Luhan, and Tao). However, it was turned into one single group of nine members in 2014 after members Kris, Luhan, and Tao left the group.

Lay had taken a hiatus from the band in 2016 to focus on his solo music and acting career. He made a comeback in June 2021 with Exo’s mini-album Don’t Fight The Feeling. The band, which releases music in Korean, Mandarin, and Japanese, is expected to release full group music this year. It is unclear whether Lay will be a part of it.