YG Entertainment keeps mum on whether Blackpink will renew its contract

Girl group Blackpink performing at the 2023 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California on April 15, 2023 [YG ENTERTAINMENT]

Rumors abound as K-pop's biggest girl group Blackpink refuses to make an official announcement on whether the members will renew their exclusive contracts with agency YG Entertainment.

News outlet News1 reported Monday that members Jennie and Jisoo have founded their own agencies to start their solo careers. The report said the two will likely pursue their solo activities through their own companies while continuing activities as members of Blackpink, managed by YG Entertainment.

"They are still in talks with YG Entertainment regarding Blackpink as a group, so it is possible that their respective agencies will be focused on their solo schedules," the report said.

The News1 report comes four days after another report from Sports Seoul on Thursday that only member Rosé agreed to renew her contract and that the other three members, Jennie, Jisoo and Lisa, will leave YG Entertainment.

YG Entertainment has been keeping mum on the issue, denying the two reports with the same comment, "Nothing has been decided on the renewal or future activities of Blackpink."

The members also avoided mentioning the issue in its recent concert held in Seoul earlier this month at the Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul.

Having debuted in August 2016, the quartet's seven-year contract with YG Entertainment ended in August this year.

Rumors have been springing up from all over the industry, rocking YG Entertainment's share prices with each new whisper as bad omens point to the agency's biggest breadwinner leaving the company and taking away its huge growth momentum.

Leaving the agency doesn't mean that the group will be disbanded, but bringing all members together under the Blackpink name may become difficult if different companies manage individual artists.

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