KARA's Nicole and Jiyoung are leaving, and the group will be left with Gyuri, Hara, and Seungyeon. DSP Media had previously revealed, "Jiyoung will be leaving the team when her contract comes to an end in April." They're currently thinking hard about the number of members, and whether they should recruit more members or keep just the 3 members, and probably many other things of that matter.

However, they need to be careful about recruiting additional members, especially when it comes to one of the top idol groups. When they were just rookies switching members might have a positive effect, but for top idol groups, the outcome could be very different. Or at least that's what the music industry is saying. That's because the previous members' empty spots would be missed, and the new members could affect the group adversely. Idol group agencies mostly say, "KARA should not add members, and should continue their activities as a 3-member group." It's as though previous groups who changed out their members has set the precedent and become a reference point.

Wonder Girls had hit songs such as "Tell Me," "So Hot," and "Nobody." When they were receiving the most attention and love, Sun left abruptly. Hyerim was brought in to fill the void. However she had a really hard time. The team started to lose popularity. In Jewelry's case, Lee Ji Hyun and Jo Minah left the group in 2006. Kim Eun Jung and Ha Ju Yeon were recruited into the group. Since half the members had been changed out, it did have an impact on the group. Fortunately enough they were able to make a big hit with their song "One More Time," and reached levels of popularity never seen before. But thereafter, Park Jung Ah and Seo In Young were replaced by Kim Ye Won and Park Sae Mi, and things were not the same.

TVXQ had an even bigger change. Three members left and only Yunho and Changmin remained. However, even with more than half the members gone, they did not recruit new singers to take their places. They were thoughtful of their fans and continued to perform, and even now are widely loved by their fans.

One rep who had experienced member changes firsthand shared, "If fans oppose certain members leaving the group, then the new members have no choice but to deal with antifans. In that case it's better to keep the members as is and continue their activities. Sometimes it's better because the group doesn't need time to adjust to one another. All in all, not recruiting members could have a faster turnaround time for them to get back in the game." Another girl group rep stated, "KARA is already so popular in Japan. Do they really need to recruit new members? They could always fill the empty stages onstage with dancers."