Haechan NCT Caught Vaping Indoors, SM Entertainment Apologizes & Pays Fine

Kapanlagi.com - The name Haechan NCT has recently become a hot topic on social media. Not because of his departure to Jakarta for NCT 127 3RD TOUR NEO CITY:THE UNITY in JAKARTA, but because of a series of photos and videos showing him vaping indoors.

The scene was apparently captured on camera when Haechan was practicing dance for the latest single by NCT 127, Be There For Me. In the BTS vlog of the dance practice uploaded on YouTube NCT 127, there were several moments where Haechan was seen vaping during breaks.

Although smoking is a common and legal thing for adult men like him, regulations in South Korea prohibit smoking of any kind, including electronic cigarettes (vapes) indoors.

1. SM Speaks Out

x.com/pannchoa

The Twitter account Pannchoa also shared a video clip showing the moment when Haechan from NCT was seen vaping. "Haechan caught smoking indoors," reads the short tweet they wrote.

After it went viral, SM Entertainment, as Haechan's agency, decided to speak out. They confirmed the circulating rumors and admitted that Haechan did indeed vape indoors as seen in the video.

"We sincerely apologize for causing concern with his (Haechan's) careless actions. We have confirmed that Haechan did vape indoors in the NCT 127 content uploaded on January 10," reads a statement from SM.

2. Haechan Pays Fine

After apologizing and providing clarification, SM Entertainment also stated that Haechan from NCT will pay the fine according to the applicable regulations. As reported by Korea Herald, the fine for smoking indoors is usually 100,000 KRW or around Rp 1.1 million.

"Today, we received the fine from the Health Department and will pay it off. We will continue to monitor to prevent similar incidents from happening again in the future," said SM.

Haechan is not the first SM idol to receive criticism for vaping indoors. Last year, DO from EXO was also caught doing the same and had to pay a fine.

(kpl/sry)