EXO-L ACE will no longer have access to privileges to official EXO fan clubs on Lysn after an announcement made by SM Entertainment on January 23.
According to a report by Kpopstarz, SM Entertainment will suspend the privileges of EXO-L ACE starting February. This means that EXO-L ACE won't be able to make purchases and conversions under the official fandom membership for the meantime. They will also lose access to perks and other privileges granted to exclusive fan club members.
It is believed that the decision came after reports that ACE members were abusing their power and mistreating basic members who registered for free without paying the amount to upgrade to an ACE membership. The suspension is seen as SM Entertainment's way of dealing with the division between the ACE and basic members which have resulted in a flood of hate messages that violated the rules of Lysn.
The suspension will last until March. Renewals and conversions to EXO-L ACE are expected to resume in April.
The EXO fandom has been the subject of much controversy lately after news of Chen's marriage was announced. It can be recalled that EXO-L ACE, who claimed to be the biggest EXO fandom in Korea issued a demand to SM Entertainment to kick Chen out of the group for being irresponsible and for damaging the image of EXO with the news of his wedding plans.
The group even staged a physical protest in front of the SM Town building in Seoul to demonstrate their displeasure over Chen's actions. However, the plan backfired after only a handful of members attended the protest, Koreaboo reported.
This also fueled international fans' support for all nine members of EXO, who trended their messages of support for Chen on various social media platforms.
According to international fans, members of EXO should not be subjected to outdated standards and that they should be free to pursue happiness in their personal lives. They also lauded Chen's professionalism and talents that contribute to EXO's popularity across the globe.
International EXO-Ls also assured their support for all EXO projects and pledged to patronize and sustain EXO's commercial success. While some fans speculated that SM Entertainment's recent move was related to their recent actions, the label did not mention the Chen issue in its suspension statement and reiterated that the move to start all applicants with a basic membership was intended to resolve issues experienced on the Lysn platform.
