Hybe ended its contract with Le Sserafim’s Kim Garam in July due to an alleged bullying scandal; same with (G)I-dle’s Soojin, who was part of Cube Entertainment

2PM’s Jay Park left the group after his old MySpace profile resurfaced with controversial comments, while Cube terminated Pentagon’s Dawn and Hyuna’s contracts after their dating news.

Plenty of K-pop idols leave their groups every year, whether due to contracts ending or busy schedules with other jobs like acting.

However, in some cases – usually after being caught up in a big controversy – idols are forced to leave their groups, with some companies even explicitly stating that they chose to terminate their contracts.

So, which K-pop idols were – rightfully or not – kicked out of their groups?

1. Le Sserafim’s Kim Garam

The most recent case of a member allegedly being thrown out was Le Sserafim’s Kim Garam, who faced countless school bullying accusations. She went on hiatus in May, then in July, Hybe and Source Music announced that her contract had been terminated and she would officially leave the group – despite rumours swirling that she’d come back.

Though Hybe denied the initial accusations, per multiple sources, more evidence gradually surfaced, pushing the agency and Garam into a corner. Even fans of the group demanded she leave, getting hashtags like #KimGaram_Withdrawal trending and flooding official social media accounts’ comments sections, per K-pop Starz. That’s why Garam’s contract termination has been seen by fans as her simply being kicked out, despite no official statement announcing as much.

Interestingly, the ex-member seemingly took matters into her own hands after leaving, uploading a statement to her friend’s Instagram, per Soompi. She firmly denied any claims of bullying others and accusations, including smoking and drinking. Hybe then released a short statement claiming “further comments are inappropriate” from its side, which has led to Garam’s current whereabouts being unknown.

2. (G)I-dle’s Soojin

In virtually the exact same way as Garam, Soojin appeared to be kicked out of (G)I-dle after accusations from an alleged schoolmate whose sibling was supposedly bullied, per Soompi. Though Soojin denied the accusations, actress Seo Shin-ae also came out as an alleged victim, leading to the singer taking a hiatus.

A few months later, the company announced Soojin’s official departure from the group – though her contract with the company would remain, per Soompi. Meanwhile, the flood of accusations had also led to a police investigation, which concluded that the original accusers were not guilty of spreading false information, and thus, Soojin’s contract was officially terminated by Cube.

3. 2PM’s Jay Park

Though a prominent soloist now, Jay Park actually started off as a member of boy group 2PM in 2008. A year after its debut, his old MySpace account from 2005 was dug up, where he had made rather insensitive comments about Korea, insulting the country and claiming he wanted to go back to Seattle where he was 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧, per Soompi.

Unsurprisingly, the comments quickly spread and while he did issue an apology, people still demanded that he leave the group. Despite this, JYP Entertainment stated that he would remain a member, though a day later, Park himself announced through his fancafe that he would leave the group and return home to alleviate the situation, per Soompi.

However, it seemed that the remaining members missed him, as they named their first album 1:59PM to symbolise his absence, per multiple sources. Since then, well into his solo career, he expressed on the show Paik’s Spirit that his comments, though they came from homesickness, were definitely immature and inappropriate, showing that he’s grown since then.

4. Pentagon’s Dawn

Dawn’s departure from Pentagon in 2018 wasn’t due to any inherently offensive actions, though it certainly was seen as outrageous by his fans. When singer Hyuna – now Dawn’s fiancée – revealed the two’s relationship on her social media, wanting to be honest with her fans, the public went into a frenzy, as Cube Entertainment had previously denied any dating rumours.

The pair continued to confirm their relationship to the media, but this was a move that Cube seemed to disapprove of. It didn’t take long for Cube to terminate both of their contracts, claiming that the trust between artist and agency had been broken, which meant Dawn and Hyuna were essentially kicked out of Pentagon, per Korea Times. Luckily, both have maintained strong solo careers – even releasing music as a duo last year – and seem to still be going strong in their relationship.

5. Momoland’s Daisy

In a puzzling (and probably outraging, for fans) case, ex-Momoland member Daisy was apparently kicked out of her group for reasons even she doesn’t seem to know. She first joined the group in 2017 and promoted until 2019, however, she was missing from promotions starting from the group’s fifth mini album Show Me, which was released in early 2019, per Manila Bulletin. In 2020, MLD Entertainment announced her departure from the group, though no specific reason was revealed, per Soompi.

She then sued her agency for withholding some of her earnings, a lawsuit which she partially won in late 2021, per All K-pop. Earlier this year, she revealed in a live-stream that she was allegedly “fired” from the group for unknown reasons, but that she has come to terms with it now, as reported by NME. Though specific reasons are unclear and it’s obvious there was some conflict, we’re glad she is at least doing okay.