Oh My Girl's Jiho did not renew contract, will leave group

Girl group Oh My Girl member Jiho, third from left, did not renew her contract with the group's agency and will be leaving the group, according to WM Entertainment on Monday. [ILGAN SPORTS]

Jiho of girl group Oh My Girl will be leaving the group, according to the group's entertainment agency WM Entertainment on Monday.

"[The agency has] renewed contracts with Oh My Girl's Hyojung, Mimi, YooA, Seunghee, Yubin and Arin," said the agency in the statement.

Regarding Jiho's leave, the agency said that the decision came after extensive discussions with the artist and that it "respected her decision to go after her new dreams."

Jiho has been with the agency for the past seven years.

Oh My Girl will continue its activities as a group of six.

Oh My Girl debuted in 2015 with “Cupid.” It was initially a team of eight before member JinE left in 2017. The group released hits including “Closer” (2015), “Liar Liar” (2016), “Windy Day” (2016), “Secret Garden” (2018), “Remember Me” (2018), “SSFWL” (2019) and “Bungee (Fall In Love)” (2019). In 2018, members Arin, Yubin and Hyojung formed subunit Oh My Girl Banhana and released “Banana Allergy Monkey,” a comedy song.

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]