UEE has decided not to renew her exclusive contract with Pledis Entertainment and announced that she will be graduating from "After School" with the end of her contract. In a handwritten letter, she expressed her deepest feelings about her upcoming departure with her fans.
According to a report by Soompi, UEE expressed thankfulness for the eight years that she has spent with her fellow members of "After School" and said that during this time, they have all grown up and evolved in the industry. She said that at first, it seemed that the thought of "graduating" from the group seemed like a faraway thought, but before she knew it, her turn has arrived.
"I'm thankful to everyone at Pledis and am both thankful and apologetic to my fellow After School members," UEE said in her message. "I will try my best to become a bright and hardworking UEE."
Unlike other K-pop groups, After School has set in place an admission-graduation system that allows for the entry and exit of members in a natural and fluid manner. UEE was not the first member of After School to "graduate." In fact, she was preceded by original members Soyoung, Bekah, Kahi, Jooyeon, Jungah who left the group from 2010-2016. UEE was the first in the next generation of After School members when she entered the group in 2009 before Soyoung left.
It is believed that UEE made the decision to "graduate" from After School to concentrate on her acting career, Kpop Behind reported. The K-pop idol has been slowly making her way to becoming one of the most promising actresses in Korean drama scene. It can be recalled that she received the Best New Actress honors at the KBS and Baeksang Art Awards in 2011 and 2012 for her role in "Ojakgyo Family." She also bagged the Excellent Actress awards in 2013's "Golden Rainbow" as well as Best Actress for a Special Project for her role in last year's "Marriage Contract."
