The abrupt departure of member Chiwoo from K-pop group KINGDOM shocked Kingmakers, KINGDOM’s fans, like a bolt of lightning. On May 25, GF Entertainment stated that Guk Seung-jun, also known as Chiwoo, has left the firm for personal reasons. The agency also said that the group will now be elevated to a six-member unit. The following is an extract from the statement:
“We’d want to advise you of the Kingdom’s official stance on its future intentions.” This is to notify you that KINGDOM member CHIWOO has canceled his exclusive contract and departed from the group for personal reasons. We regret that the unexpected news has caused anxiety for many individuals, particularly fans.”
[👑]
안녕하세요. GF엔터테인먼트입니다.
🔗 https://t.co/9cyFLxBaMm#KINGDOM #킹덤
— KINGDOM (@KINGDOM_GFent) May 25, 2022
Furthermore, the agency said that the forthcoming Chiwoo fan sign event would be canceled, and fans who won the youngest member’s individual can sign would get a refund:
“The six-person system will be used for the fan signing event on Friday and Sunday.” The record company will provide a full refund to fans who won Chiwoo’s special video call signing event. Thank you very much.”
The news sparked a flurry of worried texts. While trying to make sense of the situation, Kingmakers even put “Thank you” on their Twitter handles.
Fans express their condolences as KINGDOM’s Chiwoo announces his unexpected departure from the group.
On May 25, the agency of K-pop group KINGDOM, GF Entertainment, revealed that the group’s youngest member, Chiwoo, had canceled his contract and departed the group. The statement mentioned “personal reasons” without going into more detail. Kingmakers were delighted about the new fan sign event and were told of the members’ Weverse activity a few hours before the reveal.
The fans were taken aback by the remark. Fans of the group started archiving the group’s youngest member’s postings in case the agency chose to erase them. Furthermore, the superstar shared a picture of himself with member JAHAN, as well as a message that said:
“My eyes sprang up early lol.”
last message on weverse and it had to be chiwoo. i can’t do this i really can’t pic.twitter.com/Ir0rZ6DBz2
— isse⁶ // thank you chiwoo 🤍 (@piwonchronicles) May 25, 2022
Because of the date of the post, supporters are particularly anxious about the contract termination. Many people were concerned about the idol because of the sudden notification. Some admirers submitted passionate notes to Guk Seung-jun, assuring that his “presence would never be forgotten,” although they were tinged with concern about the unexpected news.
Meanwhile, fans urged that the agency postpone the fan sign event, claiming that both fans and members needed time to digest the news. On February 18 of last year, the Excalibur group released the album History of Kingdom: Part I. The group undoubtedly had a remarkable and unusual debut in the K-pop business and was even placed first on RollingStone’s list of the Top 10 Best K-pop Debuts of 2021. The band will now be upgraded to six members: Dann, Arthur, Mujin, Louis, Ivan, and Jahan.
