BELIFT LAB has shut down speculation that ENHYPEN member Heeseung might rejoin the group, reaffirming his departure despite a fan petition that has surpassed 1 million signatures.
“Heeseung will not be returning to ENHYPEN,” the label told The Korea Herald on Sunday. “He has a clear artistic direction he wants to pursue, and we decided to respect that.”
The statement comes as ENGENE — ENHYPEN’s fandom — continues a coordinated campaign to reverse the March 10 announcement. Since the label revealed that Heeseung would leave the group to pursue solo activities, fans have launched petitions, funded protest trucks outside HYBE headquarters in Seoul, and generated 10 million posts on X under hashtags #ENHYPENIS7 and #BringBackHeeseung.
The 24-year-old singer will remain under BELIFT LAB as a solo artist and is preparing his first solo album. ENHYPEN will continue as a six-member group consisting of Jungwon, Jay, Jake, Sunghoon, Sunoo, and Ni-ki.
Fans have questioned why Heeseung cannot pursue solo activities while remaining in the group, pointing to members of BTS, BLACKPINK, SEVENTEEN, and other HYBE artists who balance both. When Billboard asked BELIFT LAB about this the day after the announcement, the label responded: “We concluded that allowing HEESEUNG to focus fully on his career as a solo artist, rather than pursuing solo activities within the team, would be the most fulfilling approach for both ENHYPEN and HEESEUNG.”
International fan communities from the Philippines, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and India issued a joint statement supporting Heeseung’s artistic ambitions while rejecting the premise that solo work requires leaving the group. “Allow Heeseung to release his solo album while remaining a member of Enhypen and support parallel group and solo activities, as is common across the industry,” the statement read.
ENHYPEN debuted in November 2020 through the survival show I-Land, where fans voted for the final lineup. The group topped Billboard’s Top Artists chart for the first time in January 2026 and debuted at number one on the Top Album Sales chart with their seventh mini album The Sin: Vanish.
Whether the fan campaigns will change the label’s position remains unclear, but BELIFT LAB’s latest statement suggests the decision is final.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com ’
