South Korea's publicly funded largest news agency reported on Monday that the K-pop girl group Kara will come to an end next month, following the impending departure of three members.
Yonhap revealed that Park Gyuri, Han Seungyeon, and Goo Hara will not renew their contract with DSP Media, Kara's company. The three have allegedly been searching for new media agencies since late 2015 and their departure is "now just a matter of time."
The withdrawal of the three from Kara will leave Heo Youngji, who joined the group in 2014, effectively the only member of the girl group.
Kara's contracts in Japan also expired last month, reported Yonhap.
Reports of the trio's impending departure from Kara have been raised for the past few weeks, and speculation has run rampant as DSP Media continues to remain silent.
All three are reportedly looking for agencies that will be able to back their acting careers, with Goo in particularly looking to join an agency like Keyeast Entertainment, S.M. Culture & Contents, and JYP Entertainment, all of which have large overseas presence.
Kara debuted in 2007, and was one of the most popular K-pop girl groups in the late 2000's and early 2010's with hits like "Jumping," "Mister," "Wanna," and others.
The group was particularly famous in Japan, and they became the first South Korean girl group to perform at the Tokyo Dome in 2013.
This is not the first line-up change that Kara has seen over the years, although it appears to be the group's last. Since debuting, Kara saw the departure of Kim Sung Hee in 2008, followed by the addition of Goo and Kang Ji Young. In 2014, Kang and Nicole Jung left the group to pursue solo careers, leading to Youngji's addition to Kara.
Kara last made a comeback with the album "In Love" in 2015.
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Tamar Herman is a multi-media journalist and the co-founder of KultScene. She is a freelance writer and copy editor, and has written for MTV Iggy, Noisey, and Paste Magazine.
