In a statement earlier today, FNC Entertainment confirmed that their contract with AOA’s Jimin has come to an end.
In a statement issued earlier today, FNC Entertainment confirmed that their contract with Jimin – formerly of AOA – has officially come to an end.
“We are informing you that the exclusive contract period with our artist Jimin ended on January 12, 2022. We would like to express our gratitude to Jimin, who has been active as a singer in our company for the past nine years.” The statement read.
The development comes almost a year and a half after Jimin’s departure from AOA, following bullying accusations by fellow member Mina.
In July 2020, Kwon Mina posted multiple statements on her Instagram account, accusing a member of AOA of bullying her throughout her tenure in the group – she later named Jimin as said member. In her posts, Mina detailed years of physical and verbal assaults, and manipulation at the hands of Jimin. She also accused FNC Entertainment of turning a blind eye to the situation.
In a post the day after, Mina clarified that the group members – including Jimin – had approached her to apologise.
“Honestly, I don’t really know what to write. I truthfully didn’t see any intention from her to sincerely apologise, but this could be because of my own sense of inferiority, or it could be that I just want to see it that way since I’m so mad at her,” she wrote in her post.
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“To her, it could have been sincere, so it’s hard to say for certain what it was. But since I need to wrap up, moving forward, I’m going to regain my composure and work hard and continue to receive treatment. I won’t be making any more of a fuss about this. I’m really sorry.. I’m sorry.. I’m going to try to get better little by little.” She said.
Shortly after, Jimin left the group and announced a hiatus from the industry. Last week, she returned to social media after almost a year and a half and shared a new song.
Since her departure, multiple speculations about the allegations and their authenticity have been made – nothing, however, has been confirmed.
You can read more about this topic over at the Asia Pop Observer.
