Jeongyeon Becomes First Member To Leave JYP: What This Means For TWICE

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - AUGUST 30: Jeongyeon of TWICE attends Park Jin-Young's 30th day "Dandara JYP" photocall arena astatine KBS Hall successful Yeongdeungpo-gu connected August 30, 2024 successful Seoul, South Korea. (Photo by The Chosunilbo JNS/Imazins via Getty Images)

ImaZins via Getty Images

TWICE personnel Jeongyeon announced coming that she is leaving JYP Entertainment, ending an eleven-year narration pinch the agency that debuted her successful 2015. In a handwritten missive posted to Instagram connected August 10, Jeongyeon confirmed her departure and announced that she had signed an exclusive statement pinch VARO Entertainment (also stylized successful English arsenic Baro) connected the aforesaid day. VARO besides represents her older sister Gong Seung-yeon, arsenic good arsenic actors Byeon Woo Seok and Lee Chae Min.

She is the first TWICE personnel to time off JYP since the group’s debut. It is important to statement that while she is leaving the agency, she remains pinch the nine-member group.

"The 1 point I genuinely want to show ONCE is that moreover though I americium moving connected to a caller section to return connected caller challenges, TWICE, the halfway of my life, will stay unchanged, conscionable arsenic it is now," she wrote successful the letter. VARO Entertainment stated they were "sincerely happy to create a valuable relationship pinch Yu Jeongyeon, who has divers charms and limitless potential."

TWICE's Intact Lineup Was Always The Exception

Jeongyeon, 29, is 1 of TWICE’s lead vocalists and debuted pinch the group successful 2015 done JYP’s endurance programme Sixteen. The group went connected to merchandise awesome hits including "OOH-AHH," "Cheer Up," and "TT."

Comprising members Jihyo, Nayeon, Momo, Mina, Sana, Dahyun, Jeongyeon, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu, TWICE is 1 of the industry’s longest enduring woman groups, and person surgery countless records successful the much than a decade they person been active.

Until today, TWICE had maintained the aforesaid nine-member lineup from debut crossed an eleven twelvemonth profession — nary additions and nary departures.

As pointed retired during SEVENTEEN’s one-of-a-kind statement renewal, successful the past 3 decades, retired of the hundreds of groups hoping to make it large each year, the number that person renewed contracts moreover erstwhile pinch 1 azygous institution and their original lineups intact, is little than fifteen.

The ‘seven-year jinx’ — the K-pop industry’s shorthand for the statement expiration constituent astatine which groups typically fracture — did not declare TWICE connected schedule, but successful a way, has conscionable claimed its first personnel now.

In her letter, Jeongyeon wrote, "JYP has been my 2nd location since my teenage years — a spot wherever I've spent truthful overmuch clip and created truthful galore cherished memories. I americium now preparing to commencement a caller section successful a caller place."

TWICE In A Year Of K-Pop Departures

Jeongyeon’s announcement comes two-thirds of the measurement into a twelvemonth that has been exceptionally turbulent for lineup stability. ENHYPEN’s Heeseung departed successful March 2026 to prosecute a solo profession nether Belift Lab, a move that crash-landed truthful unexpectedly that K-pop fans flooded South Korea’s nationalist pension work lines and sent trucks successful protest.

Mark Lee ended his decade-long contract pinch SM Entertainment and near each NCT units successful April 2026. ZEROBASEONE divided successful half, pinch 4 members departing to re-debut nether YH Entertainment. WinWin departed NCT and WayV successful July arsenic his statement expired. KATSEYE’s Manon (this 1 is K-pop adjacent) has been connected hiatus since February pinch nary return day confirmed. Leader Sophia Laforteza is besides currently retired of commission.

What This Means For TWICE

Against this backdrop, SEVENTEEN’s full thirteen-member renewal was the year’s astir conspicuous counterexample. TWICE was another, until today.

Jeongyeon is besides not the only TWICE personnel whose JYP early has been discussed. Although nary charismatic statements person been made, frenetic speculations astir TWICE leader Jihyo and members Tzuyu and Chaeyoung earlier this twelvemonth prompted JYP to issue statements that statement negotiations were still ongoing.

The "separate but together" arrangement, wherever individual members grip solo promotions done a abstracted agency while remaining pinch their groups, has go somewhat of a modular believe among K-pop’s longer-running acts, albeit pinch an uneven way record.

BLACKPINK instantly comes to mind, wherever the 4 members Jisoo, Lisa, Jennie and Rosé collectively declined to renew their individual solo contracts pinch YG Entertainment successful 2023.

Each signed pinch abstracted agencies aliases founding their own, while keeping a group statement pinch YG specifically for BLACKPINK activities. That statement led to an extended play pinch nary group output arsenic members prioritised solo careers, and subsquent instrumentality vexation and wide questions astir the early of the group.

BLACKPINK has since returned, but the intervening play exposed the model’s structural consequence — erstwhile nary azygous agency has afloat scheduling authority complete each members, group projects go logistically analyzable and are often deprioritised. Considering TWICE has much than double the number of members arsenic BLACKPINK, this would beryllium thing to support successful mind.

Girls’ Generation, presently 8 members, tin beryllium taken arsenic a person parallel of the aforesaid story. In 2017, Tiffany, Sooyoung and Seohyun declined to renew pinch SM Entertainment while the different 5 members stayed, pinch SM issuing a connection that group activities would proceed regardless. Girls’ Generation did merchandise their seventh medium successful 2022 to people their 15th day and are coming backmost again successful 2027 for their 20th, but only aft a multi-year play of minimal activity and extended speculation astir whether they would ever usability arsenic a afloat group again.

In July this year, Yuri became the latest personnel to depart SM while confirming her continued committedness to group activities, bringing the number of members pinch outer solo practice to 3 (Sunny near successful 2023).

Among boy groups, TWICE’s JYP labelmates 2PM is the lawsuit astir often referred to arsenic impervious that the statement tin activity sustainably.

Member Ok Taecyeon near JYP successful 2018 for agency 51K, becoming the group’s first departure from the label. His caller agency issued a connection confirming that 2PM group activities would proceed done JYP. When Chansung departed successful 2022 and Lee Jun-ho followed successful 2025 aft 17 years, 2PM's group activities continued crossed those transitions pinch nary announced disbandment.

The group has astatine various points had members dispersed crossed aggregate agencies while still promoting collectively.

Veteran group Super Junior, whose members Donghae, Eunhyuk and Kyuhyun moved to outer agencies successful 2023 while the group renewed collectively pinch SM, operates similarly.

Where the exemplary has surgery down is erstwhile departures happened without an anchor — erstwhile members near the group itself alternatively than conscionable the label, aliases erstwhile a member’s exit was involuntary aliases acrimonious alternatively than mutually agreed. Jessica’s departure from Girls’ Generation successful 2014, for illustration was of the second kind. The instruction astir agencies look to person absorbed successful the decade since is that the separation of group and solo contracts, handled early and transparently enough, is preferable to a afloat departure for the label, the remaining members and for the group's commercialized longevity.

Prospects for whether this holds for TWICE depends substantially connected what the remaining 8 members determine to do pinch their ain contracts. Either way, Jeongyeon’s move is the first, but decidedly not the past connection connected TWICE’s adjacent chapter.

TWICE Jeongyeon’s Full Statement

“Hello, this is Jeongyeon. After giving a batch of thought to really to definitive my feelings, I americium sharing this missive pinch you all. JYP has been my 2nd location since my teenage years; a spot wherever I’ve spent truthful overmuch clip and created truthful galore cherished memories. I americium now preparing to commencement a caller section successful a caller place. Leaving a spot that feels truthful acquainted to maine was daunting astatine first, but I was capable to find the courageousness acknowledgment to my members and our ONCE who person ever believed successful me. I americium profoundly grateful to my members and ONCE; words cannot afloat definitive my gratitude. I americium besides very grateful to the JYP family who helped maine turn into the personification I americium today. The 1 point I genuinely want to show ONCE is that moreover though I americium moving connected to a caller section to return connected caller challenges, TWICE, the halfway of my life, will stay unchanged, conscionable arsenic it is now. Standing earlier ONCE arsenic a personnel of TWICE will ever beryllium my very first priority. I will hole measurement by measurement pinch each my heart—both for my travel arsenic TWICE’s Jeongyeon, whom you person loved truthful much, and for the caller challenges up arsenic Yoo Jeongyeon. I convey you from the bottommost of my bosom for believing successful maine and ever staying by my side. Since we still person truthful overmuch clip up of america to create caller memories, I will activity difficult to capable those moments moreover much beautifully pinch ONCE. Thank you always.”