The four members of the girl group BLACKPINK—Jennie, Lisa, Rosé, and Jisoo—are all leaving their agency, YG Entertainment. However, they will continue BLACKPINK team activities under YG.

On the 29th, YG stated, "We have agreed not to proceed with separate contracts for individual activities." 

The agency added, "We will fully support BLACKPINK's activities and warmly cheer for the members' individual activities."

Earlier this month, YG publicly revealed that they had signed exclusive contracts with all four members as a 'group.'

Yang Hyun-suk, YG's head producer, expressed his happiness about continuing their connection with BLACKPINK, stating, "I am glad to continue BLACKPINK's destiny. We will do our best to make BLACKPINK shine even more brightly in the global music market."

With the group's individual success as 'world stars,' speculation arose in the music industry about the difficulty of YG securing personal exclusive contracts for each member. 

YG had maintained a position of "under discussion" regarding personal exclusive contracts, but the official announcement today confirms the separation.

BLACKPINK made their debut on August 8, 2016, with the double title tracks "Whistle" and "Boombayah." Members Jennie, Jisoo, Rosé, and Lisa, with their talent and beauty, garnered significant attention as YG's new girl group.

They gained immense popularity with each release, including debut songs, as well as subsequent hits like "Playing with Fire," "As If It's Your Last," "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du," "Kill This Love," "Lovesick Girls," "Pink Venom," and "Shut Down."

Their second studio album, "BORN PINK," released in September last year, made history by reaching number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 and the UK Official Albums Chart for the first time as K-pop girl group, solidifying BLACKPINK's status as world stars.

In addition, BLACKPINK successfully embarked on the largest world tour by a K-pop girl group, drawing in 1.8 million fans worldwide (based on solo concerts).

Despite the departure from YG Entertainment, BLACKPINK is expected to continue the 'together yet separately' approach during team activities, similar to other K-pop senior groups such as EXO and Super Junior, who maintain team unity regardless of different agencies.

Jennie recently revealed on her social media (SNS) that she had established her own label, 'ODD ATELIER.'

<Photo=YG Entertainment>

<Translated by=Gawon Park(Dispatch)>