2020–2023: Debut in NCT and departure Sungchan became a member of the South Korean boy group
NCT on September 20, 2020, when he and
Shotaro were formally introduced as new additions to the group alongside the announcement of NCT's second full-length album,
NCT 2020 Resonance Pt. 1. Further details were released the following day, and the album officially dropped on October 12. On November 9, SM Entertainment announced that the second part of the album would be released on November 23. To promote the release, Sungchan made his stage debut with NCT and its sub-unit
NCT U, performing the single "90's Love", which was released on the same day. On February 18, 2021, Sungchan was officially announced as a new host for
Inkigayo, a popular weekly music program that broadcasts live every Sunday on
SBS. This marked a significant step in his career, expanding his presence beyond performing for the first time to include hosting duties. From March 2021 to March 2022, he co-hosted the show alongside
An Yu-jin from the girl group
Ive and
Jihoon from the boy group
Treasure. Together, they guided viewers through live performances, music charts, and special segments. Sungchan also appeared in
Welcome to NCT Universe, a variety show alongside Shotaro in which they introduced
SM Rookies Seunghan, Eunseok, and Shohei to the world of NCT. The ten-episode series aired from November 2022 to February 2023 on
TVING in South Korea, as well as on
Nippon TV and
Hulu in Japan. The show also featured Sungchan's participation in the
SM Town Live 2022: SMCU Express concert tour in August 2022, performing "Outro: Dream Routine" with Shotaro and the SM Rookies. Although he was initially expected to join NCT's then-upcoming Japan-based subunit, more than two years passed without Sungchan being added to a fixed unit within the group. On May 24, 2023, the group's agency announced that Sungchan, along with Shotaro, would be departing from NCT. In the official statement, the agency explained that the two would be "closing their chapter with NCT" and confirmed that they would debut in a new boy group set to launch in late 2023.
2023–present: Riize The first mention of SM Entertainment's new boy group came on February 3, 2023, when the company released a video outlining its future plans under the
SM 3.0 initiative. In the video, SM announced that the group was scheduled to debut in the fourth quarter of 2023, with the project led by SM Entertainment's
COO,
Tak Young-jun. In July,
The Chosun Ilbo reported that the new boy group was preparing for their debut and had begun filming a music video in
Los Angeles, a detail later confirmed by SM Entertainment. Sungchan was officially introduced as a member of
Riize on August 1, 2023 and made his first appearance with the group in a performance video for "
Siren" released on August 7. Riize officially debuted on September 4 with the single album
Get a Guitar, which sold over one million copies in its first week. == Other ventures ==