Four members of Ciipher leave band

Boy band Ciipher [RAIN COMPANY]

Four members of boy band Ciipher quit the group on Wednesday, leaving only Hyunbin, Hwi and Keita under the Ciipher name.

The four members are Tan, Tag, Dohwan and Won. They left the band two years after debuting in 2021 under Rain Company, a K-pop agency founded by veteran singer Rain.

The remaining members will remain active as solo artists for the time being, but the team will come back as a whole after a makeover, according to the agency.

“The decision came after careful talks with the members,” the agency said in a post on the band’s official website.

“Keita has his fan meet and greet scheduled in Japan this month. All three [remaining] members are set to meet with fans regularly through different projects."

Ciipher has released three EPs so far but only received a lukewarm reception from the public amid a flood of newly-debuting bands in the K-pop scene.

Keita participated in cable channel Mnet’s audition program “Boys Planet,” and Hyunbin competed in MBC’s audition program “Fantasy Boys” earlier this year.

Keita will be part of upcoming boy band EVNNE, pronounced “even,” with six other contestants from “Boys Planet” under Jellyfish Entertainment before the end of the year.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]