Jessica Jung's announcement that she was "forced out" of girl group Girls' Generation left the whole K-pop industry in total shock. SM Entertainment released a statement on September 30 confirming that the K-pop star will no longer promoting with the group.
However, looking at the history of SM Entertainment, this is not the first time the agency is faced with such a controversy involving their talents, which include some of the most successful idol groups in the world of K-pop.
The issue came in the midst of Girls' Generation's promotion of their Japanese album, as well as their sub-unit TaeTiSeo's promotion of "Holler."
The news reportedly affected Korean stocks for the agency. Wall Street Journal even reported about the issue, which is believed to have a great impact not only to the image of SM Entertainment, but also its financial stature.
SM Entertainment has a history of disputes with its artists and this year seems to be the toughest.
One of the most talked about issues is the exit of Kris (Wu Yi Fan) from his highly popular group EXO. There were reports that Kris filed a lawsuit against SM to nullify his contract.
The events happened during the 12-member group's promotion of "Overdose." The agency later confirmed Kris' departure from the group, after which EXO promoted as an 11-member idol group.
Despite shock and disbelief, EXO successfully finished their first solo concert in Seoul just a few days before the news broke.
Meanwhile, Sulli, member of another group f(x) under the same management, went on what was referred to as hiatus from the all-girl group. Like that of Kris' departure, the event took place while f(x) was promoting "Red Light." SM confirmed Sulli's hiatus and announced a halt o the promotions on July 24.
The issue was linked to rumors stating that Sulli has been dating Dynamic Duo's Choiza since late 2013. The dating rumors were confirmed by both SM and Ameoba Culture, Choiza's talent agency. After the confirmation, SM clarified that Sulli is not leaving the group, calling it a hiatus.
SM Entertainment is one of the biggest agencies in the rapidly growing pop industry in Korea, with some of the most well-known K-pop groups under their label, including TVXQ, Super Junior, Girls' Generation, EXO, SHINee, f(x), and Red Velvet.
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