On September 30, SM Entertainment confirmed that Girls’ Generation Jessica will no longer be promoting with the group and acknowledged that posts made to her Weibo account statements made by the artist. This acknowledgement that Girls’ Generation would now be promoting as eight members has sent shockwaves through Korea, leading to concern from many K-Pop fans.
On October 1, Jessica issued a statement which attributed her business BLANC, as being a primary reason for her split with Girls” Generation.
Girls’ Generation is currently in the midst of promoting their Japanese greatest hits album, with the subgroup Taetiseo supporting their release “Holler.”
As rumors regarding the departure of Jessica began to surface, Korean stocks for SM Entertainment began to drop. Financial media outlets including the Wall Street Journal have reported about the confirmation of Jessica’s departure from Girls’ Generation, which will undoubtedly have an impact on the finances and image of SM Entertainment.
SM Entertainment has experienced numerous setbacks in 2014, with each scandal mysteriously occurring in the midst of promotional activities for three of its top international acts.
In May 2014, former EXO member Kris (Wu Yi Fan) departed from the group during promotions for the release “Overdose.” Allegations surrounding a lawsuit between Kris and SM Entertainment surfaced, with the agency confirming Kris’ departure from the group on May 15.
Kris was the leader of the Chinese subgroup EXO-M. Since his departure, EXO has promoted as an eleven member group.
Girls’ Generation and EXO are not the only groups to have scandals occur in the midst of their promotions.
Sulli, a member of the dance pop group f(x), took what was referred to as a temporary hiatus from the group in the midst of “Red Light” promotions. On July 24, SM Entertainment announced a halt in promotional activities for “Red Light” and confirmed the hiatus for Sulli.
Sulli had been embroiled in on-going dating rumors surrounding Dynamic Duo’s Choiza. The rumors, which became more salacious over time, started in late 2013.
On August 19, Korean media outlet Dispatch released photos which allegedly depicted Sulli and Choiza on a date. SM Entertainment and Amoeba Culture, the agency representing Choiza, immediately responded to the release of these photos and a story which stated that Sulli would be departing from f(x).
Both SM Entertainment and Amoeba Culture confirmed that the stars were dating. SM quickly clarified that Sulli would not be leaving the group.
Alleged contract disputes and dating may be at the heart of SM Entertainment’s recent problems. Prior to allegations of a lawsuit from Kris, SM Entertainment was at the center of contract disputes for former Super Junior member Han Geng and former TVXQ members JYJ (Junsu,Yoochun, Jaejoong).
Prior to news of her departure from Girls’ Generation, SM Entertainment announced that all nine members of the group had renewed their contract for three years, following the expiration of their previous contract. This release of contract information from SM Entertainment is what made news regarding an eight member Girl’s Generation more shocking.
Has open dating negatively impacted Girls’ Generation and SM Entertainment?
2014 kicked off with news that Girls’ Generation member YoonA was dating acting idol Lee Seung Gi. The news surrounding the relationship between YoonA and Lee Seung Gi led to a steady stream of news involving members of Girls’ Generation and relationships.
Relationship news involving Girls’ Generation started to become sticky on April 4 when SM Entertainment confirmed the relationship between Tiffany and 2PM’s Nichkhun. The relationship between Tiffany and Nichkhun was the first confirmed idol relationship since BEAST’s Yong Jun Hyung dated KARA’s Goo Hara.
K-Pop fans continued to remain supportive of Girls’ Generation and their relationships.
On June 18, SM Entertainment confirmed the relationship between Girls’ Generation member Taeyeon and EXO’s Baekhyun. This was the second idol relationship in Girls’ Generation and involved the member of one of SM Entertainment’s most popular male groups. Fans of both groups began to negatively respond to the news, with media outlets analyzing the age difference between Taeyeon (25) and Baekhyun (22).
For many EXO fans, the news of the relationship followed too closely behind the departure of Kris from the group.
With the news of Taeyeon and Baekhyun, five out of the nine members of Girls’ Generation were in confirmed relationships in 2014.
Dating rumors involving Jessica and Tyler Kwon have been on-going since March 2014. In early September, dating rumors evolved into engagement rumors involving Tyler Kwon and Jessica. SM Entertainment and Tyler Kwon declined these rumors, stating that Tyler and Jessica were only friends.
However, Jessica was captured by Dispatch on September 30 returning from New York City around the same time as Tyler Kwon. On October 1 KST, rumors began to surface that Jessica and Tyler Kwon were in the midst of planning a wedding to be held in Hong Kong.
Most K-Pop agencies thrive on secret relationships involving its idols and groups. It has become commonplace for idols for admit to relationships following a breakup.
Throughout 2014, SM Entertainment has been at the forefront of the the Korean entertainment industry, issuing relationship confirmation regarding members of Girls’ Generation, Super Junior, EXO, and f(x). There have been no confirmed relationships involving the members of SHINee in 2014.
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The ideas expressed above are those of the writer and do not reflect the opinions of KpopStarz.
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