Moon Tae-il (Korean: 문태일, born June 14, 1994), known mononymously as Taeil, is a South Korean singer. He is a former member of the South Korean boy band NCT and its sub-units NCT U and NCT 127, managed by the label SM Entertainment. Taeil made his debut in April 2016 in the rotational unit NCT U and became a member of the Seoul-based unit NCT 127 in July 2016. He departed from NCT on August 28, 2024, following allegations of sexual offenses, later revealed to be quasi-rape.
Early life
Moon Tae-il was born on June 14, 1994, in Seoul, South Korea.[1] He was accepted to the Applied Music program of Hanyang University in 2013;[2] that year, the program was reportedly the most competitive early-admissions program in the country, topping law and medicine at other prestigious schools.[3] Taeil decided not to enroll in university after being accepted by SM Entertainment as a trainee.[4]
On October 13, 2015, Taeil was introduced as a member of SM Entertainment's pre-debut training team, SM Rookies.[5] On January 27, 2016, Taeil released "Because of You" (단 한 사람) as a soundtrack for the TV series The Merchant: Gaekju 2015.[6]
2016–present: Debut with NCT, soundtrack appearances and solo work
Taeil made his official debut as a member of NCT U, a rotational subgroup of NCT, on April 9, 2016, with the release of the single "Without You".[7] Taeil later made his debut as a member of NCT 127, the second fixed sub-unit of NCT, with the release of the EP NCT#127 on July 7.[8] On December 30, Taeil participated in the SM Station charity single "Sound of Your Heart" (너의 목소리), a collaboration with SM artists (Yesung, Sunny, Luna, Wendy, Seulgi and Doyoung) and pianist Steve Barakatt.[9]
As NCT U, Taeil, Taeyong and Doyoung released the song "Stay in My Life" on August 7, 2017, as a soundtrack for School 2017.[10] Taeil, Doyoung, and Jaehyun then released the NCT U single "Timeless" (텐데...) on January 12, 2018.[11] Taeil and Doyoung again collaborated as NCT U on "Radio Romance", a soundtrack for Radio Romance, released on January 30, 2018.[12] On September 7, 2018, Taeil and Jaehyun released the NCT U song "New Dream" as a soundtrack for Dokgo Rewind.[13]
On March 30, 2019, Taeil was featured in Sohlhee's debut single "Purple" (보라색).[14] In November, he competed on the television show King of Mask Singer under the nickname "King Card".[15] On December 13, Taeil, Doyoung, Jaehyun and Haechan released the NCT U single "Coming Home", an SM Station collaboration with UNICEF.[16] The song reached number seven on the BillboardWorld Digital Song Sales chart.[17]
On April 11, 2021, Taeil featured on Moon Su-jin's single "The Moon" (저 달).[18] On June 6, Taeil released "A Beautiful Human Being" (아름다운 사람) the second part of Morning Dew 50th Anniversary Tribute Album, a tribute to musician Kim Min-ki.[19] On June 28, the fourth part of the album, featuring "Morning Dew" sung by various artists including Taeil, was released.[20] On July 6, Taeil launched an Instagram account[21] and broke the Guinness World Record for "Fastest time to reach 1 million followers on Instagram", previously held by Rupert Grint since November 2020.[22]
On October 11, Taeil, along with rapper Lil Boi, featured on Raiden's single "Love Right Back" from his debut EP of the same name.[23] They performed the song together on M Countdown and Inkigayo that month.[24][25] On December 27, SM Entertainment released the album 2021 Winter SMTOWN: SMCU Express, which includes the song "Ordinary Day", sung by Taeil and label mates Onew and Kyuhyun.[26]
2022–present: NCT Lab contributions and removal from NCT
On February 9, 2023, Taeil released "Lovey Dovey" as the soundtrack of the TV series Love to Hate You.[33] On September 7, Taeil and Haechan released the NCT U single "N.Y.C.T" for the NCT Lab project. Both members participated in writing the song.[34] Later that month, on September 22, Taeil released "Bandit" as the main soundtrack of the Netflix series Song of the Bandits.[35]
Taeil released "Wave" (파랑), a soundtrack for Captivating the King, on February 4, 2024.[36] On March 12, he released the single "Weird" (묘해, 너와), a remake of Acoustic Collabo's soundtrack from the 2014 TV series Discovery of Love.[37] The song reached number 132 on the Circle Digital Chart.[38]
On August 28, 2024, SM Entertainment announced Taeil's removal from NCT following sexual offense allegations.[39][40] On October 16, SM Entertainment announced the termination of Taeil's contract through a mutual agreement.[41]
Personal life
Car accident
On August 15, 2023, Taeil was involved in a car accident in downtown Seoul while returning home by motorcycle after finishing his schedule early in the morning. He temporarily suspended his public scheduled activities to focus on treatment and recovery.[42]
Sexual offense allegations
On August 28, 2024, SM Entertainment abruptly announced that Taeil would be removed from the NCT line-up as a result of an investigation tying him to sexual offenses.[39][40] The investigation reportedly began following a report filed by an adult woman in June, said to be the victim of the case.[43][44] According to SM Entertainment in a later statement, both the company and Taeil were not notified about the investigation until "mid-August".[45] Following his removal from the group, fans of his former group created edits to remove him from songs and group images, and staff at a pop-up booth held in collaboration with Incheon International Airport covered up his pictures.[46] On September 13, the Seoul Bangbae Police Station announced that the case had been handed over to prosecutors the previous day.[47]
It was later revealed on October 7 that Taeil was reported to the police with two other men for aggravated quasi-rape (committed when a person commits rape while in possession of a weapon or while two or more people act together to rape a victim who is incapable of resisting). If found guilty, Taeil could face more than 7 years in prison or a life sentence.[48][49] As a result of the ongoing case, SM announced that they would be terminating Taeil's contract on October 16.[50]
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^"NCT127 태일 "SM과 대학교 동시 합격..선택 후회 NO" [V라이브]" [NCT 127's Taeil "accepted by SM and college at the same time... No regrets about choice." [V LIVE]]. OSEN [ko] (in Korean). July 16, 2016. Archived from the original on March 2, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
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^Jeong Ji-won (December 28, 2016). "SM, 스티브 바라캇과 협업...30일 신곡 '너의 목소리' 발표" [SM collaborates with Steve Barakat ... New song 'Sound of Your Heart' released on the 30th]. X-sports News (in Korean). Naver. Archived from the original on July 26, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
^"감성 발라드곡" NCT U 재현X도영X태일, SM 스테이션 출격(공식) ["Sentimental ballad song", NCT U's Jaehyun, Doyoung, Taeil release SM Station song (Official)]. Newsen (in Korean). January 9, 2018. Archived from the original on May 9, 2024. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
^Jeong Ji-won (January 30, 2018). [공식입장] NCT U 태일·도영, '라디오로맨스' OST 첫 주자 발탁 [[Official position] NCT U's Taeil and Doyoung, 'Radio Romance' OST selected as the first runners]. OSEN [ko] (in Korean). Naver. Archived from the original on November 10, 2020. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
^Kang Seung-hoon (September 7, 2018). 엑소 세훈 주연+NCT 주제곡 참여한 '독고 리와인드' O.S.T, 7일 발매 ['Dokgo Rewind' OST featuring EXO's Sehun + NCT's theme song, released on the 7th]. E Today (in Korean). Archived from the original on June 26, 2020. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
^Kim Myung-mi (March 29, 2019). 솔희, NCT127 태일 피처링 '보라색'으로 데뷔(공식입장) [Solhee, debut with 'Purple' featuring Taeil of NCT127 (official position)]. Newsen (in Korean). Naver. Archived from the original on July 19, 2021. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
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^Kim Mi-ji (April 7, 2021). "NCT 태일 피처링...문수진, 11일 발매 신곡 '저 달' 티저 공개" [NCT Taeil featuring ... Moon Soo-jin, new song 'That Moon' teaser released on the 11th]. X-sports News (in Korean). Naver. Archived from the original on July 19, 2021. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
^Choi Na-young (June 28, 2021). 윤종신・이은미・태일・황정민 등 35명 아티스트 함께 부른 '아침이슬' 공개 ['Morning Dew' sung by 35 artists including Yoon Jong-shin, Lee Eun-mi, Tae-il, and Hwang Jung-min released]. OSEN [ko] (in Korean). Naver. Archived from the original on July 19, 2021. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
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^ abHwang, Hyo-yi (September 6, 2022). 강태오-박은빈'·'손석구-김지원'·'이준호-이세영' 베스트커플상은? [Best Couple Award for 'Kang Tae-oh - Park Eun-bin', 'Son Seok-gu-Kim Ji-won', 'Lee Jun-ho-Lee Se-young'?] (in Korean). Sports Kyunghyang. Archived from the original on September 6, 2022. Retrieved September 6, 2022 – via Naver.
^"NCT U 태일X쿤X양양, 빛나는 청춘의 시너지 'Rain Day'[들어보고서]" [NCT U's Taeil, Kun, Yanyang create shining youthful synergy with "Rain Day" [Report]]. Newsen (in Korean). July 19, 2022. Archived from the original on May 9, 2024. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
^"NCT 태일·해찬, 오늘 '뉴욕시티' 발매...로맨틱" [NCT's Taeil and Haechan release "N.Y.C.T" today...romantic]. Newsis (in Korean). September 7, 2023. Archived from the original on May 11, 2024. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
^ ab'도적: 칼의 소리' 오늘(22일) 공개...새로운 웨스턴 활극 ['Song of the Bandits' will be released today (22nd)...a new Western-action drama]. Xports News (in Korean). September 22, 2023. Archived from the original on November 16, 2023. Retrieved September 22, 2023 – via Naver.
^경찰 "NCT태일 성범죄건, 6월 피해자 신고로 입건 후 수사중" [Police "NCT Taeil's sex crime case is under investigation after being reported by the victim in June"]. Newsis (in Korean). August 29, 2024. Archived from the original on August 29, 2024. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
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^Kim, Bo-kyung (September 14, 2024). 사진 오려내고 목소리 편집하고...1020팬들이 나선 '태일 지우기' [Cropping photos, editing voices...1020 fans take action to 'erase Taeil']. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). Archived from the original on September 17, 2024. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
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"Love Right Back": 2021년 42주차 Download Chart [Week 42 of 2021 Download Chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). April 11–17, 2021. Archived from the original on October 23, 2021. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
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