TWICE's Jeongyeon Leaves JYP After 11 Years: What Her Departure Means for the Group's Future
On August 10, 2026, TWICE's Jeongyeon announced she is parting ways with JYP Entertainment after eleven years, signing the same day with VARO Entertainment. She's the first TWICE member to leave the label since the group's 2015 debut — but as she made clear in her own handwritten letter, TWICE isn't losing a member.
On August 10, 2026, Jeongyeon of TWICE announced she is leaving JYP Entertainment, the agency that has managed her career for 11 years since she debuted through the survival show Sixteen in 2015. She broke the news herself, posting a handwritten letter to Instagram rather than routing it through a company statement. Within hours, VARO Entertainment confirmed it had signed her to an exclusive contract the same day.
What Jeongyeon Announced
"JYP has been my second home since my teenage years," Jeongyeon wrote, "a place where I've spent so much time and created so many cherished memories. I am now preparing to start a new chapter in a new place." She described the decision as daunting, crediting her TWICE members and the group's fans, known as Once, for giving her the courage to leave a familiar environment. VARO Entertainment's response was equally direct: "We are sincerely happy to create a special connection with Yu Jeongyeon, who has diverse charms and limitless potential. We deeply resonated with Yu Jeongyeon's authentic attitude and sincerity toward acting."
Who VARO Entertainment Is
VARO Entertainment (also stylized as "Baro") is a boutique, acting-focused agency, not a music label. Its roster includes Jeongyeon's older sister, actress Gong Seung-yeon, alongside Byeon Woo-seok, Jin Goo, and Lee Chae-min. VARO's statement makes the priority explicit: it wants to help Jeongyeon take on "new challenges as an actress while also continuing her group activities smoothly." That framing matters: Jeongyeon isn't jumping to a rival K-pop label. She's a 29-year-old idol adding an acting-management team to her career, and her sister's agency was the obvious, trusted choice.
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Why TWICE's Lineup Isn't Changing
The detail easy to miss in a headline: Jeongyeon's new contract with VARO is an individual deal. TWICE's group promotions, comeback schedule, and nine-member roster all remain under JYP Entertainment. In her letter, Jeongyeon was unambiguous about which relationship takes priority: "The one thing I truly want to tell ONCE is that even though I am moving on to a new chapter to take on new challenges, TWICE, the center of my life, will remain unchanged, just as it is now. Standing before ONCE as a member of TWICE will always be my very first priority."
| What Changed | What Stays the Same | |
|---|---|---|
| Agency | Individual acting career now managed by VARO Entertainment | Group contract and promotions remain with JYP Entertainment |
| Contract type | New exclusive individual contract, signed August 10, 2026 | TWICE's group activities continue under existing terms |
| Lineup | Jeongyeon is the first TWICE member to leave JYP since the 2015 debut | All nine members, Jihyo, Nayeon, Momo, Mina, Sana, Dahyun, Jeongyeon, Chaeyoung, Tzuyu, remain in the group |
| Track record | N/A | TWICE had kept the same nine-member lineup for 11 straight years before this news, unusually long by K-pop standards |
The Bigger Picture for TWICE's Future
Jeongyeon's move slots into a pattern that's become increasingly common for established K-pop acts: members signing separate deals for acting or solo ventures while staying anchored to their group's core contract, a setup built to let individual ambitions grow without forcing a group breakup. Whether other TWICE members eventually pursue similar side arrangements as their own contracts come up isn't something today's news confirms. It's the obvious next question for anyone watching the group.
What isn't in question is that TWICE, as a unit, keeps moving. Songs like "What is Love?", the 2018 single that helped define the group's playful, cinematic concept era, are a reminder of why the group's run has lasted this long.
TWICE "What is Love?" M/V · YouTube
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Frequently asked questions
Did Jeongyeon leave TWICE?
No. Jeongyeon left her agency, JYP Entertainment, not the group. In her August 10, 2026 letter she said TWICE remains 'the center of my life' and that she'll continue promoting with the group's other eight members as before.
What agency did Jeongyeon sign with?
VARO Entertainment, a boutique agency whose roster includes her older sister, actress Gong Seung-yeon, along with Byeon Woo-seok, Jin Goo, and Lee Chae-min. VARO announced the exclusive contract the same day Jeongyeon posted her exit letter.
Why did Jeongyeon leave JYP Entertainment?
Sources don't cite a dispute; her own letter frames it as pursuing 'new challenges,' and VARO's statement points specifically to supporting her as she 'takes on new challenges as an actress.' She called JYP her 'second home since my teenage years' and thanked the company in her farewell letter.
Is Jeongyeon the first TWICE member to leave JYP?
Yes. Per Forbes, she's the first TWICE member to leave JYP since the group's 2015 debut, ending an unbroken run in which TWICE kept its original nine-member lineup for 11 years with zero exits.
Will TWICE's other members leave JYP too?
There's no confirmation of that in the current reporting; this news covers only Jeongyeon's individual contract. It does raise the question of whether other members' future contract renewals could follow a similar 'stay with the group, branch out solo' structure, since that kind of arrangement has become common elsewhere in K-pop.
Sources
- TWICE's Jeongyeon Personally Confirms Departure From JYP + Signs With VARO Entertainment — Soompi
- Twice's Jeongyeon leaves JYP after 11 years, joins Varo Entertainment — The Korea Herald
- TWICE's Jeongyeon leaves JYP to pursue acting career — The Korea Times
- Jeongyeon Leaves JYP: What This Means For TWICE — Forbes
