Lee Joon and Thunder officially announce withdrawal from MBLAQ; J. Tune Camp says they were surprised and claims there was no prior discussion about their departure

By Staff Writer

Dec 16 2014, 02:00 AM EST

Lee Joon and Thunder (aka Cheondung) are officially leaving the K-pop group MBLAQ as well as the group's record label J. Tune Camp, to focus on their respective solo activities, Koreaboo reports.

A press release was issued by the idols' legal representative on December 16. The statement reads as follows:

"Hello, how are you? This is the legal representative of Lee Joon and Thunder, the law firm Haesol (attorney Na Hyung Jin).

The client of our law firm would like to reveal our position on their behalf to dispel any speculations about their exclusive contracts, and their future plans.

Following the end of the Curtain Call concert on November 31st, they have ended their exclusive contract with J.Tune Camp, and so it was their last activities with MBLAQ. From now on, Lee Joon will only concentrate on his current promotions in MBC-TV Mister Baek. And as expected, Thunder will be focusing on the study of music for a while.

They sincerely give thanks to those fans who have relentlessly sent love and encouragement for the past five years. We will show fans a more mature image later. Thank you."

Asian Junkie noted that despite the attempts to negotiate with the two idols, J. Tune Camp was not able to retain Lee Joon and Thunder on the group and under the managing agency.

Meanwhile, J. Tune Camp has stepped forward to express their position on the two members' departure as well as to comment on what is next with the remaining MBLAQ members.

A rep from the agency told X Sports News on December 16, "MBLAQ, as a team, will continue on as is. It is not yet the time to comment on whether [MBLAQ] will promote as three members or if the group will be restructured. We will reveal our definite plans later on."

As for the announcement of Lee Joon and Thunder's withdrawal, the rep had this to say, "If Lee Joon and Thunder have expressed their stance on withdrawing from the team, we will respect their intentions. We were belatedly informed that the two of them revealed their decision through a law firm. We are surprised that they acted in this way without any prior discussion with the agency. It is unfortunate that we were unable to come to a successful conclusion."

The group's "Curtain Call" concert last month became a highly emotional event for the idols and their fans as they were all in tears for most part of the concert.

According to Kpop Herald, Lee Joon and Thunder's exclusive contracts with the agency expired in late November. Remaining members of MBLAQ are Seungho, G.O and Mir.