AOA‘s ChoA is confirmed to be leaving the group. After initial reports that nothing had been decided from the label, they made a statement on June 30th and said they had decided to respect her desire to retire from the business for now.
“We have decided to respect Choa’s opinion and she will be leaving AOA. The members will greet fans through individual activities through a variety of fields. We ask for fans’ love and support.”
-FNC Entertainment
So sad to see ChoA leave! We will her nothing but the best in her future endeavors!
ORIGINAL: ChoA, the leader of girl group AOA, has announced that she is leaving the group. The twist? Her label says nothing has been confirmed.
On June 22nd, the singer announced to her fans that she would be leaving the group effective today. She cited depression and insomnia as the main reasons.
However, FNC Entertainment quickly responded and said nothing has been decided yet. It’s unclear if they are trying to get her to stay and she thought she would just force the matter by going ahead and announcing her decision via Instagram, or if they are trying to protect her from making a rash decision that depression can sometimes lead you to make. Either way, fans are left feeling a little confused, especially after it was just announced a few days ago that she would be partaking in her first solo fan sign and making her first public appearance since her recent hiatus.
Read her statement below (translation courtesy of Soompi), alone with FNC Entertainment’s statement:
“Hello, this is Choa.
“I was very grateful and sorry that so many people took interest in my sudden hiatus. This is a bit late, but I want to tell you the reason why I had to rest and the decision that I came to after lots of deliberation.
“Since AOA wasn’t a team that immediately received a lot of love when we debuted, I had always been grateful for the love we got and I think preciously of it.
Although I was the oldest on the team, I’m still very young and I wanted to cry a lot of times while working. However, I know that the reason you like me is because of my bright image. Although I was crying in my heart, I had to look happy. This happened repeatedly, and the more I forced myself, I found myself becoming sicker and sicker.
“To treat my insomnia and depression, I tried taking medication and started decreasing my work two years ago. However, because the problem didn’t stem from being tired, I ended up stopping all of my activities.
“I tried hard to get back to work while thinking of those who were waiting for me, but I felt that if the negative attention of my hiatus continued, this would be even more detrimental to the team members.
“After speaking with our company, I am leaving the team called AOA today, and I’m going to be cheering on my fellow members.
“Over the past eight years while I prepared to become a celebrity and worked as one, I learned a lot of things. I think that even this difficult moment is a process for me to grow. I am 28 years old this year, and going forward, I will be reflecting on my chaotic self. For the remainder of my 20s, I would like to fill them with different experiences that are befitting of my age.
“As of now, I am not thinking about doing any work outside of my individual work that was already planned. Someday, when I no longer feel scared and feel that I can show a better side of me, and if there are still people who cheer me on, I would like to return. I am a lacking person, but to those who keep cheering me on and worry for me, I would like to give my sincere thanks. To the members who I have been with for so long, and to those who helped me overcome what I lack so that I can be loved, and to those who loved me and AOA, thank you very much from the bottom of my heart.”
-ChoA (@queenchoa_)
After ChoA made her announcement on social media, the press immediately began asking for a statement from FNC Entertainment. To one news outlet, they simply stated, “In terms of leaving the team, we are in the process of talking about it. It has not been decided. We will be deciding on the future steps after more discussion.”
What do you think about ChoA’s announcement and FNC’s response? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!
Media: FNC Entertainment