2022 has had some pretty shocking stories of kpop idols suddenly or not so suddenly departing their groups, today we shall go over the list of the kpop idols who left their groups in 2022.
Note: if an idol is missing from this list, please let us know in the comments so we can add them as this is a comprehensive list.
Chuu
Rumors of Chuu’s departure from her group had been brewing for quite some time in 2022 when it all came crashing down in late November. On November 25, LOONA’s agency announced that it would expel and remove Chuu from the group, saying, “We recently investigated Chuu’s abusive remarks against our staff, and the company’s CEO has apologized and comforted the staff.
However, various suspicions have been raised online over the announcement of the removal of Chuu by the agency, sparking another controversy. Since then, the agency attempted to do damage control saying they’ve acted within reason adding that Chuu should come out and reveal evidence if she wishes to, and warned fans to stop speculating and/or poking holes in the statement they had released. Chuu has since said she’s done nothing wrong and asked fans to wait for her.
This is a developing situation.
Jinni
In December, Jinni left both NMIXX and JYP Entertainment. On December 9, JYP Entertainment released a shocking statement with fans, the agency said the idol has departed NMIXX and their agency. JYP does not provide a reason behind the departure aside from stating that it was for ‘personal reasons,’ the announcement took fans by surprise as it came out so suddenly without any warning.
Jinni debuted with NMIXX in February of 2022. She’s born in 2004 and trained for 7 years to debut. There has been many rumors about why she left, but JYP has chosen not to comment on any of the rumors.
Bang Ye Dam And Mashiho
TREASURE lost 2 members in 2022 after YG Entertainment announced the departure of Bang Ye Dam’s and Mashiho, and the termination of their contract.
The fate of Bang Ye Dam’s and Mashiho in the group has been an ongoing topic of discussion after YG first announced Bang Ye Dam’s and Mashiho’s temporary hiatus earliert in this year. Back then, YG said Bang Yedam will be taking a hiatus to focus on his potential as a producer. Mashiho was said to be going on a hiatus due to health reasons.
Later in July, YG returned with a new statement to also say Bang Ye Dam and Mashiho will not participate in the group’s summer comeback or tour citing similar reasons.
Fast forward too n November 8, YG has released an official statement to announce both members departure from the group. The same reasonswere given.
Chi Hoon, Minsu, Jerome, and Woonggi
In a shocking statement on April 30, WAKEONE Entertainment posted to TO1’s official fan cafe to announce the news. They stated that Chi Hoon’s exclusive contract with them has been canceled and that he would also be leaving the group.
In June, the agency said Minsu, Jerome, and Woonggi have also left. An explanation was not provided.
Park Ji Eun
Girl group PURPLE KISS had announced the departure of member Park Ji Eun from the group back in November.
RBW, their agency, announced on its official fan cafe on November 18 that Park Ji Eun, a member of PURPLE KISS will depart from the group due to her poor health condition and anxiety during group activities.
Heochan
On October 11, IST Entertainment made a very shocking announcement announcing Heochan is departing his group following the news of his DUI. Previously, VICTON’s agency IST Entertainment posted an official statement to the group’s official Twitter account to announce that VICTON’s Heochan has been caught drunk driving by police and is currently being investigated for the incident.
The agency apologized repeatably for VICTON’s Heochan’s actions and said he’s deeply repenting. They said he was caught drunk driving on September 20 by police and his alcohol content was high enough to have his license revoked.
Due to this, he took a hiatus from all group and individual activities and had taken to his Instagram account to issue a personal apology.
Kim Garam
Kim Garam has been one of the most-talked-about kpop idols this year for her bullying scandal that escalated out of control despite all the attempts by HYBE and Source Music to control the situation.
Despite the fact that HYBE has continuously stated they will be taking legal action against rumors and slander and have been in the process of doing so since April. They denied she was a bully until the very end.
However, on July 20, Source Music released an official statement stating their contract with Kim Garam has been terminated and that she has left LE SSERAFIM. The statement is very short and only provides the news of the departure of Kim Garam, it does not go into details about how they came to the decision or whether its because the bullying accusations turned out to be true or not. This struck fans as odd considering the efforts the agency went through to continuously claim Kim Garam was a victim in this situation.
This included HYBE previously releasing a detailed report of what they claim to have happened in the case of LE SSERAFIM’s Kim Garam bullying controversy. There were even reports that HYBE had met with the alleged victim recently to resolve the issue. HYBE and Source Music actions and handling of the situation was put on blast by the general public.
Ravn
ONEUS’s agency RBW confirmed that member Ravn is leaving the group following a string of allegations made against him by an alleged ex-girlfriend.
This happened after one anonymous individual claiming to be ONEUS’s Ravn’s ex-girlfriend posted shocking details of what they claim to be what happened throughout their two-year-long relationship. The woman is reported to be Japanese and has released a detailed account that has been translated to Korean and shared across social media gaining a lot of attention.
The woman accused him of cheating on her, gaslighting her, and also claimed when they first met, he got her drunk to the point she wasn’t fully conscious for the first time they had intercourse. She also brings up other alleged girlfriends he’s been with and also provided pictures and audio as well. In one alleged audio clip, a man can be heard talking about another ex-girlfriend who made him so angry he wanted to stab her with a knife.
Jiho
On May 9, WM Entertainment announced the news via an official statement. They stated that they have renewed the exclusive contracts with the six members of Oh My Girl, Hyojung, Mimi, YooA, Seunghee, Yoo Bin (formerly known as Binnie), and Arin.
However, member Jiho has decided not to renew her contract with the agency, they stated, “we will respect Jiho’s decision to head towards her new dream.” The decision was reached after having many in-depth discussions with the members and Jiho.
Jang Gyuri
Jang Gyuri left both fromis_9 and PLEDIS Entertainment this year.
On July 28, PLEDIS Entertainment shared an official statement to announce the news. According to the agency, her original contract with her former agency had expired and she had not yet signed a new contract with PLEDIS Entertainment. Previously, PLEDIS Entertainment released an official statement to announce that they will be taking charge of fromis_9’s management from now on.
Jang Gyuri debuted as a member of fromis_9 in 2018. She’s currently active as an actress.
Sohee
Sohee left ICHILLIN’ less than a year after their debut shocking fans.
On July 15, the agency KM Entertainment announced the news via an official statement. The agency said Sohee has left the team. After discussing with the idol about her future career, they’ve come to agree to conclude her team activities in ICHILLIN’. They thanked all the fans for their support thus far and asked them to continue to show support for Sohee in the future. They also apologized for the unfortunate news.
ICHILLIN’ carries on activities as a six-member group. ICHILLIN’ made their debut in September 2021 with the digital single “Got’ya.”
Jian And Huiyeon
LIGHTSUM reorganized as a 6-member group in 2022.
On October 25, Cube Entertainment issued an official statement to reveal the news via social media. In the statement, the agency says Jian And Huiyeon are no longer part of the group.
The statement was very brief and does not touch on exactly why the two members are departing. It only states that they have decided on this after careful discussions with the team.
Denise
On February 5 KST, Denise took to Instagram to release statements in both Korean and English announcing the news to her fans. She stated that her contract with Vine Entertainment had ended on February 1st, 2022 and that she would be leaving the group, in the caption, she added, “Thank you for your patience and for everything. Love always.”
Denise debuted with SECRET NUMBER in May 2020, however, despite the group’s latest comeback in October 2021, she did not participate in any promotions for the single.
Jiyoon
Weeekly’s Jiyoon left the group this year too.
On June 1, IST Entertainment announced via official statements through various channels that Weeekly’s Jiyoon will be concluding her activities in the group due to health concerns.
Jiyoon previous went on hiatus due to symptoms of anxiety. This included a break in August of last year. She proceeded with activities in December but halted activities again in February of 2022.
Wondae
Rising Boy Group DONGKIZ has made many surprising changes in 2022 and this included changes to its lineup.
DONGKIZ’s Jaechan starred in “Semantic Error” and gained immense fame as a result. The news was announced on March 18.
The agency announced that DONGKIZ will be changing its name to DKZ. Not only that but there will be several lineup changes beginning with Munik, who had previously gone on hiatus due to health issues, will remain on a hiatus and not join the group’s next comeback. Member Wondae is leaving the group due to his injury.
Son Naeun
On April 8, it was reported that Son Naeun had departed Apink after being with the group for 11 years. The group celebrated their 11th anniversary without her, they had released an album with Son Naeun prior to her departure.
Later, in a statement to the press, IST Entertainment confirmed that Naeun will be leaving Apink. The agency says that after discussions between the agencies and the group members, Naeun has decided to conclude her activities with the group. Son Naeun also took to Instagram to thank the fans for the past 11 years.
Jae
JYP Entertainment has released a shocking announcement on the first of January of 2022.
Hours after DAY6 Jae announced via his Twitter account his plans to take a hiatus from DAY6’s group activities, the agency released a statement of its own to announce Jae is departing the group and the agency.
The announcement has surprised fans since many were under the impression that Jae was only taking a hiatus but not leaving the group for good.
Lim Hyeongbin
BANDAGE’s Lim Hyeongbin left the group on April 4.
ChiwooIST Entertainment, the agency of the group, made an official statement that the member had concluded his activities with BANDAGE and made his departure from the group at the end of March this year. He’s decided to leave after various discussions with the members and the agency.
Chiwoo
On May 25, KINGDOM’s agency released an official statement to announce the shocking news. In their statement, they revealed that Chiwoo has terminated his contract with the agency and left the group too.
According to the agency, the idol has decided to leave ‘due to personal reasons.’
Youngheun and Judy
BLACKSWAN lost its two Korean members in 2022. Youngheun, and Judy parted ways with the group. On July 31, BLACKSWAN’s agency, DR Music, made an announcement on Instagram, they had graduated from the group.
Satbyeol and Ella
On August 27, PIXY’s agency, Allart Entertainment, made an announcement regarding the matter via the group’s fan cafe.
Ella and Satbyeol decided to leave due to health reasons. Before this was announced, the members had been on hiatus to focus on their health.
Ji Hyo, Lee Soo, and Han Byeol
PRECIOUS, a rookie group lost three of its five members this year.
Members Ji Hyo, Lee Soo, and Han Byeol terminated their contracts and departed from the group. Some of the members ahd been on a hiatus for a while before ther departure was announced.
