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NPS services paralyzed by Enhypen fans over Heeseung's departure

Published: 18 Mar. 2026, 19:18 Updated: 18 Mar. 2026, 19:41

LIM JEONG-WON
[email protected]

Heeseung, a former member of boy band Enhypen [YONHAP]

The National Pension Service's (NPS) support services became paralyzed after fans of boy band Enhypen bombarded the state institution with angry phone calls and emails in a frenzy after the departure of singer Heeseung from the group.

On March 10, HYBE — the parent company of Enhypen's agency Belift Lab — announced that Heeseung will leave Enhypen and start solo activities. Since then, fans have taken to the NPS, a major shareholder of HYBE, to protest the departure.

Kim Sung-joo, chairman and CEO of the NPS, shared details of the incident through a Facebook post on Wednesday, bemoaning the disruption to support center operations and asking Enhypen fans to refrain from making more calls or writing emails.

Overseas phone calls temporarily paralyzed NPS operations last week, and more than 1,500 emails poured in from Enhypen fans about Heeseung during just two hours, according to Kim.

“We found out that some users on X posted the support center numbers of the NPS online and mobilized others to protest the removal of an Enhypen member,” he wrote.

Kim cited an X post that specified that the NPS is "the biggest investor in HYBE," claiming that fans "should be really annoying and not let anything slip by."

The NPS holds a roughly 7.5 percent stake in HYBE.

A post on X, formerly Twitter, asking fans to call the National Pension Service to protest over Heeseung of Enhypen leaving the boy band [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Regular pension seekers experienced much inconvenience due to the disruption, Kim said.

“Our support center is the department responsible for pension support services for foreign workers in Korea and Koreans abroad,” he wrote. “Those calling for pension consultations have experienced significant inconvenience due to this situation.”

Kim stressed that the NPS is “a long-term investor entrusted with managing the public's retirement funds” and that the service has no part in matters concerning K-pop groups.

“While we invest in numerous companies across more than 80 countries worldwide, we do not get involved in the management or personnel matters of individual companies,” he emphasized. “We do not get involved in the formation of K-pop groups or the composition of their members.”

BY LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]