7 K-pop idols who quit their groups soon after debuting: besides Le Sserafim’s Kim Garam, Hyuna, Somin, Jiin, Jisun, Seunghee and Junhyeok all departed early too
- Hybe, the brains behind BTS, launched Le Sserafim earlier this year, but Kim Garam was riddled in bullying scandals, leading to a hiatus and subsequent departure
- Hyuna left Wonder Girls for health reasons, then joined 4Minute, Somin was with April for only 3 months, but did Junhyeok really leave Day6 because of a relationship with a fan?
But Garam isn’t the first in K-pop showbiz to leave a group so quickly. Here are five more cases … and the reasons behind their swift departures.
1. April’s Somin
While Somin is now known for being a member of Kard, she was actually part of a girl group called April before entering the popular mixed-gender group. Somin debuted with April in 2015 but, three months after its debut song Dream Candy came out, she left the group, per K-pop Starz.
According to Koreaboo, Somin has no regrets. “I’m very happy I had the opportunity to be with the members I have now,” she said.
Theories from netizens floated around online stating that Somin didn’t like the concept DSP (the music label) had for April, hence she took off to explore her options. After joining Kard, her image changed from cute to bold and her genre of music took a complete turn with a mix of reggae-style, hip-hop songs.