EXO member Kris, leader of the group's subunit EXO-M, is believed to have left the group earlier this year due to his unhappiness with idol life.

A report published by Korean news portal Nate stated that the leader of a popular idol group had briefly left his group, saying that he could no longer promote in a group. The group's agency is said to have had difficulty convincing the leader to return to the group, but ultimately succeeded.

Although the article did not specify any group, leader or company in particular, netizens believe they have filled in the details and found that the most likely person for the article to be referencing is EXO-M's Kris.

According to netizens, Kris, a Chinese-Canadian, went to Canada on hiatus without consulting anyone earlier this year. The group continued to practice without him and was supposed to comeback in March, but after SM Entertainment convinced him to return, the group's comeback was pushed back to its current June date.

"He went through a difficult time after realizing that idol life is different from what he thought it would be. Idol groups aren't receiving the same attention they did several years ago, which we believe had something to do with his decision," an industry insider told Nate.

While these rumors are not confirmed by SM Entertainment, Kris has received a lot of negative criticism from netizens on various message boards. Many are calling the idol selfish and irresponsible, with some going as far as to say he should be kicked out ad sued by the company.

Netizens' response to these rumors highlights their tendency to feed into each others' frenzy and escalate issues without all the facts being known. Despite their negative reaction to Kris' rumored departure, the group's upcoming album, "XOXO (Kiss&Hug)", has become one of the most anticipated albums of the summer.

cr: jpopasia

Well that's a shock. For sure many fengurls are going to die/cry/flips table/rage/kill/etc when SM confirm this.