Kpop Celebrity News

AOA’s Choa has decided that she will officially leave the group.

After several speculations that Choa may be thinking of leaving AOA, on June 22, she made a post on her Instagram confirming that she will be leaving the band.

Here is the full translation of her post:

“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.”

AOA’s Choa will be making her first official public appearance on July 1 after her ongoing break!

Choa will attend a solo fan signing event for Ellesse, a sportswear brand she models for. Following news about this public appearance, fans have been wondering if she will officially resume activities or if AOA will be making a comeback soon.

A source from FNC Entertainment relayed to news outlet Xsportsnews, “The fan signing had been scheduled previously. Nothing has been decided about promotional activities for a comeback album.”

Choa is currently on a break since AOA’s concert in March. Fans had voiced their concerns about her absence, as no explanations had been given at the time, and it was only until later that FNC and Choa spoke up to explain why she had not taken part in AOA’s promotional activities.

Meanwhile, other AOA members are focusing on individual activities, with Yuna starring in a new drama and Seolhyun considering a role in a movie starring Jo In Sung.

AOA’s Choa is reportedly dating Lee Suk Jin, the young CEO of Najin Industry.

News reports first broke the news on May 17, with several claiming that the two met after Super Junior’s Kim Heechul introduced them. Reports also state that the couple have been dating since last year, although without confirmation yet.

As of now, her agency FNC Entertainment has simply stated, “Right now, we are currently contacting Choa about the dating reports. We will reveal our statement after we confirm the news.”

Lee Suk Jin is in his early 30s, and inherited the CEO position of Najin Industry back in April 2011. Najin Industry is an electronics distributor that is known for its distribution complexes in Yongsan Electronics Market, a center of the electronics industry in Korea. It also is an eWorld management company, with Lee Suk Jin known to be an avid fan of eSports.

Meanwhile, Choa also recently spoke out about her unexpected hiatus, and apologized for making fans worry.

AOA’s Choa has returned to reassure fans after worries emerged of her prolonged absence. This follows a statement released by FNC Entertainment on the issue.

On May 16, Choa took to her personal Instagram account to explain and said, “Hello, this is Choa! I was a little surprised by all the attention I got for the first long break I’ve had since my debut, but I’m sincerely grateful that you were thinking of me even when I’m not there.”

She continued to write, “I’ve been swept up in a controversy about my absence, but the break I took was something I had planned and discussed with the head of our company since before we filmed the music video for ‘Excuse Me’ in December 2016. I suggested letting you all know before I took the break because I knew you would be waiting for me, but I was advised against putting out an official statement for a personal break. Our management team was of the opinion that I should refrain from using social media while on my break, so I complied though I wasn’t fully on board with the idea. I should have tried harder to persuade them for the sake of our waiting fans. I think I was too complacent. I want to sincerely apologize to all those who waited and showed their support for me.”

Choa added, “It may be because I’m releasing this statement so late, but there are a lot of unkind speculations and rumors going around. All I’m doing is being on a break that I had planned in advance, so I hope that there are no more bad rumors that come out of this. To those posting these baseless speculations! Those really hurt the people they’re about. Please delete them.”

She concluded with, “As I conclude this post, I would like to once again express my gratitude to those who have shown their support for me. I hope to recharge and work hard to be even better than before. Thank you.”

We’re happy to hear that she’s well and enjoying a well-deserved break!

FNC Entertainment, girl group AOA’s agency, has responded to fans’ worries that AOA’s Choa may be leaving the group.

On May 6, FNC Entertainment said, “After the AOA concert in March, Choa requested a break for personal reasons and she is on break now in accordance to that.”

As for when she may be coming back, they said, “She will come back when she feels that it’s the right time.” They clarified, “There are no issues between her and the rest of the group. She is simply taking a break.”

Meanwhile, fans began to worry about her presence in the group when AOA performed as a five-member group sans Choa and Seolhyun at the 25th Yeoncheon Festival in Gyeonggi Province. According to FNC Entertainment, Seolhyun was not able to attend this schedule because she was filming an advertisement.