Overview
- Photos that showed former NCT member Mark Lee wearing a T‑shirt bearing the Confederate battle flag were posted online by his new label and then taken down after users noticed the symbol.
- Upper Room issued an English apology saying the shirt was selected as a vintage wardrobe piece, that the agency takes full responsibility for the oversight, and that it will strengthen internal review and approval processes.
- The Confederate battle flag is widely linked to slavery and white supremacist movements and is classified as a hate symbol by the Anti‑Defamation League, which shapes how international audiences interpret the image.
- The images and the label’s explanation prompted strong fan backlash on social media and public skepticism about the claim that the artist or team did not grasp the flag’s negative associations.
- The episode comes weeks after Mark left SM Entertainment in April and launched Upper Room in early June, raising immediate reputational risks for both the artist and his fledgling label and leaving open whether further statements or actions will follow.