3 NCT members apologize for spontaneous earthquake routine

From left, NCT members Doyoung, Mark and Johnny [ILGAN SPORTS]

NCT members Doyoung, Mark and Johnny apologized for singing about an earthquake just after an earthquake struck off of Jeju Island.

The boy band was in the middle of a YouTube livestream to introduce its new album when an emergency alert was issued about the earthquake. When they understood what had happened, the three members started singing "Earthquake," a track from the album, and dancing.

The other members told them to "stop joking around," but the offending routine had already been broadcast. Doyoung, Mark and Johnny immediately took to their Instagram accounts to apologize.

"I made a reckless mistake by not taking the situation seriously," Doyoung wrote. "I want to apologize to those who were hurt and inconvenienced."

Mark and Johnny wrote similar apologies.

The 4.9-magnitude quake occurred at 5:19 p.m. in waters about 41 kilometers (25 miles) off the island's southwestern city of Seogwipo, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration on Wednesday.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]