YouTube reporter Lee Jin Ho (이진호) has recently chimed in with his thoughts regarding the truth behind 2NE1 (투애니원)’s shocking disbandment back in 2016, which apparently stemmed from the “discord” between YG Entertainment and one of the members.
Earlier on 17th December, Lee uploaded a video on his page titled, “‘Found out from a news article?’ The truth behind 2NE1’s disbandment” in which he narrated the sequence of events that resulted in the girls going their separate ways.
The industry insider opened by raising the issue regarding the circulating hot topic about the group, after CL revealed that she had learnt about 2NE1’s disbandment through a news article during an interview with AP Entertainment. This shocking revelation came to light several years after the girl group’s disbandment.
In addition, Lee also delved into the controversy surrounding the “Can’t Nobody” hit-makers that took place in 2014. If you recall, member Park Bom came under media scrutiny after she was caught trying to smuggle amphetamine tablets back in 2010. At that time, speculations arose that YG had relations with the Prosecution, as the case was not handed over to the prosecution.
The reporter further explained that the public’s opinion of the now-defunct music ensemble became worse as the YG drug scandal broke out soon after. For instance, 2NE1 was criticised by Korean netizens after making their surprise appearance at the 2015 Mnet Asian Music Awards. Most of them argued that “they made a comeback too soon without even self-reflecting on the incident.” As a result, it became even harder for the girls to promote in South Korea.
Then in 2016, the members were discussing with their agency about their contract renewal. Lee then claimed that there was a member who was already trying to depart from the agency prior to the official dissolution of the team.
“In May 2016, Minzy had a conflict with the agency during the contract renewal process. In the end, she left 2NE1,” the YouTuber stated. Minzy’s departure was met with mixed reactions from netizens, and the 27-year-old idol’s father responded to the criticism by saying, “If you will do a media play, I will hold a press conference and reveal the truth. I’m trying to make this a beautiful breakup.”
It was also revealed that YG and the three remaining members of the group were actually preparing for a comeback album. As stated by reporter Lee, however, the agency had difficulties during the preparation of this album due to the continuous “unruly actions” of another 2NE1 member, whom the YouTuber didn’t specifically disclose her identity.
With one member continuing to deviate from the agency’s rules, that one member even made a written contract with former CEO Yang Hyun Suk, to focus on their group activities. That being said, she failed to follow the rule, and the agency gave up on 2NE1, which led to the cancelation of the new album as well as the sudden disbandment announcement.
Following that, Bom left YG, with only CL and Dara remaining. When Yang Hyun Suk posted on his social media about recording, CL commented, “What about me?” along with the hashtag, “Please reply to my text message.” This showed that the inner conflict between the members and the agency was more serious than people thought. Eventually, the two members left YG in 2019 and 2021 respectively.
In the same video, Lee also appeared to take some shots at YG Entertainment for announcing the group’s disbandment without consulting the members first. “As the dissolution was announced without even informing the leader CL, the members’ opinions were not respected in the decision-making process,” he was quoted as saying.
He also explained that the members all had been hurt in the process of the disbandment. It was clearly displayed in the recent articles published about CL’s remark about the heartbreaking news. For those interested, you can watch the full video here:
2NE1 made their official K-pop debut on May 2009 with the single “Fire”. They were also widely known for their string of smash hits namely “I Don’t Care”, “Go Away”, “I Am The Best”, “Come Back Home” among others.
