Over the years, some K-pop idols chose to leave the industry due to health issues while others left because they were accused of being involved in a big scandal. There were also those who claimed to be mistreated by their agency which led them to leave the toxic environment.
Earlier today (Wednesday, 9th August), Korean entertainment company RAIN Company, founded by veteran idol Rain (정지훈), released an official statement to announce that Ciipher (싸이퍼) members — Tan (탄), Tag (태그), Dohwan (도환), and Won (원) — have left the group. “This decision was made in mutual agreement between the members and the company in respect of their personal intentions,” the company wrote.
They added that the remaining members will be reorganised into a new group. Fans were saddened by the news and have expressed their anger towards the company. Many previously have accused the agency as well as Rain of mistreating their idols. While nothing is official, based on fans’ observations, here are the possible reasons why the 4 Ciipher members left the group:
1. Lack of online and offline interaction with fans
When looking through the group’s official Instagram page, the gap between each post is highly concerning; 1 post being weeks or 1 month apart from the last post. This is also evident on their TikTok and YouTube channels as well. It is also worth noting that Ciiper does not have a Weverse account or any platform where they can interact with their fans.
According to Allkpop, Keita, the only Japanese member of the Korean group has yet to join his members for a fan meet as well as holding his own fan meet. This caused an uproar among fans with many demanding RAIN Company more content and interaction with the idols.
2. CEO’s Mismanagement
Over the years, Rain has been accused of abandoning several idol groups that debuted under his management starting with MBLAQ. Shortly after the group’s debut, Rain left J. Tune Entertainment, a company he used to own, to sign with a subsidiary of Cube Entertainment which ultimately resulted in the departure of Two X and MBLAQ’s Lee Joon and Thunder in 2014.
J. Tune’s only active group MADTOWN also had to be relocated to another agency where they reportedly suffered even more mistreatment. Rain’s past deeds made fans worry when he announced that he was debuting a new boyband under his new company RAIN Company.
Before Ciipher was still training for their debut, it was shown in a YouTube video, posted 2 years ago, how Rain managed his idols. He kept pushing the members and employees to agree to his suggestions for the group’s choreography. He was met with criticisms from fans who pointed out that the choreography for Ciipher’s debut song was ‘comical’.
3. Ciipher members’ activities halt for unknown reasons
After releasing their EP “The Code” in 2022, members Keita (케이타) and Hyunbin (현빈) participated in “Boys Planet” and “Fantasy Boys” respectfully and even managed to make it to the finals. However, after concluding “Boys Planet”, Keita’s path reached an abrupt stop, excluding him from the debut lineup of a new boyband with the other contestants.
Apart from that, member Tag, who also initially joined “Boys Planet”, left the contest before it even started citing personal reasons. Up until now, RAIN company has yet to give any explanations for the members’ inactivity.
4. KPOP Allstars Music Festival and KCON LA controversy
[ #KCONLA2023 ] ARTIST LINEUP#RAIN
🎈 KCON LA 2023
8.18.~8.20.
Let’s #KCON! pic.twitter.com/4sr3MeW0cX— KCONUSA (@kconusa) June 12, 2023
Fans have previously accused Rain of prioritising his own career over the idol group under his company after it was announced he will be one of the performers for KCON LA which will take place later this month. The announcement came right after the cancellation of the KPOP Allstars Music Festival which was supposed to take place in Indonesia.
Ciipher was supposed to be one of the performers to take the stage at the festival but fans pointed out that the organisers failed to include the group in the promotions for the festival despite posting their welcome video.
RAIN Company previously denied all allegations made against the agency and announced they’d take legal actions against those who spread slander. At the time of writing, neither Ciipher nor its now-former members commented on the sudden departure news.
What do you think?
Sources: RAIN Company, Soompi, Allkpop (1)(2), Koreaboo
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