After Leaving NCT, Mark Lee Launches His Own Label

What Upper Room Means For Mark Lee

Upper Room announced the company “will serve as the starting point for his music, vision, and the various projects he will pursue in the future, marking the beginning of a new chapter.” The name also carries biblical significance (Mark has made references to his faith previously as well); Upper Room refers to the room in which the Last Supper took place in the Gospel of Mark, the same text whose author shares Mark Lee’s English name. The company’s launch video briefly references the biblical passage Mark 14:12-15.

The latest Instagram post also includes Matthew 6:33, a verse that says “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.”

The post contained a message from Mark as well, saying:

“In my view, the Upper Room — this prepared place — holds something beyond form, a quiet readiness… a moment suspended just before everything begins.

There is a presence in it…not loud, but undeniable. A stillness that feels almost sacred — as if it has been waiting, long before arrival.

Not empty, but gathered.

Not silent, but listening.

And within it… a voice begins to take shape.”

Who Mark Lee Is

Mark Lee is originally from Toronto, Canada, and moved to Seoul in 2012 to join SM Entertainment as a trainee. He officially debuted in 2016, as part of subunit NCT U, and months later as part of NCT 127 and NCT Dream. Over a decade, he became one of the group’s most internationally prominent members, known for his rap delivery, bilingual fluency, and consistent output across NCT’s multiple sub-units and configurations. He released his first solo album The Firstfirst in April 2025. “I think this album helped me find myself,” he told the Hollywood Reporter ahead of that release.

SM Entertainment announced his departure in April this year, stating: “After a long period of careful and thoughtful discussion with Mark regarding his future activities, we have mutually agreed to conclude his exclusive contract as of April 8.”

In a handwritten note posted to Instagram on April 2, a decade after his debut, Lee addressed his fanbase directly: “Out of all the things my heart wants to say right now, I truly wish to say thank you. Thank you for loving, supporting, and shaping me to become who I am today.”

ForbesWhy Mark Lee’s Exit From NCT Matters This Much To KPopBy Hannah Abraham

The Growing Wave Of Idols Launching Their Own Labels

Mark Lee joins a significant and growing cohort of K-pop idols who have moved from major label infrastructure into independent ownership, with results that range from institution-building success stories to cautionary tales.

The most instructive perhaps is Jay Park, who founded AOMG in 2013 after leaving 2PM and built it into one of Korea’s most respected hip-hop labels, signing artists including Gray, Lee Hi, Simon Dominic, and Yugyeom. Park stepped down as CEO of both AOMG and H1GHR MUSIC (which he co-founded with Cha Cha Malone in 2017) at the end of 2021, citing a need for personal reflection.

The labels continued without him but entered a turbulent period. In 2024, following CEO DJ Pumpkin’s resignation amid internal controversy, Gray, Lee Hi, Woo Won-jae, and Goosebumps all left without renewing their contracts.

PSY announced his label P Nation in 2019 following his departure from YG Entertainment, and the company signed a promising roster that included rapper Jessi, then-couple HyunA and Dawn, Crush, and Heize. SK Group member SK Telecom also invested ₩5 billion KRW for a 10% stake.

However, by 2025, every original signee had departed without renewing (eight artists remain on the label, including MAMAMOO’s Hwasa. P Nation has since launched its first girl group Baby DONT Cry, produced by (G)I-DLE’s Jeon Soyeon, so a still-active but considerably diminished operation relative to its 2019 ambitions.

The most troubled recent case is INB100, founded by EXO’s Baekhyun in 2023 to manage solo activities for himself, Chen, and Xiumin amid their departure from SM Entertainment. In May 2024 the label was absorbed as a subsidiary into One Hundred Label under chairman Cha Ga Won. In April this year, however Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin filed notices of intent to terminate their exclusive contracts with INB100 over alleged unpaid settlements, a sharp ending for a label that had initially looked like one of the industry’s more commercially viable independent ventures.

Zico’s KOZ Entertainment, founded in 2018 after leaving Seven Seasons, was acquired by HYBE in 2020, a move that saved it financially but ultimately left it, according to K-pop news aggregator Allkpop, as the lowest-performing label in HYBE’s portfolio, recording the weakest revenue among all HYBE subsidiaries before the CEO resigned in 2023 . Kang Daniel’s Konnect Entertainment, founded in 2019 following a contract dispute, has since closed entirely.

BLACKPINK’s Jennie launched ODD ATELIER in 2023, Lisa founded LLOUD and Jisoo established BLISSOO with her brother. All three remain active at time of publication, though it is too early to evaluate their long-term viability as label operations beyond managing their founders’ solo careers.

There appears to be a pattern, that artists who have built fanbase loyalty and creative identity within large entertainment companies reach a point where the label infrastructure that incubated them becomes a constraint. However, idol-owned labels that thrive beyond their founders are rare. The ones that succeed — and even AOMG’s success is now complicated by its post-Jay Park deterioration — do so by developing other artists with genuine creative investment. The ones that struggle treat the label primarily as a vehicle for one person’s solo career.

What does the Upper Room represent for Mark Lee? We will find out.