I.O.I's comeback is reportedly delayed and it caused a ruckus among the media and fans. It can be recalled that earlier this year, through the confirmation of Studio Blu last June, the girl group is supposed to return this month.
The full statement reads:
"Hello, this is I.O.I,
At our last concert, we promised to meet again. We have all been working hard in our own fields, always dreaming of a reunion.
We have now decided in October 2019 that Kim Sejeong, Choi Yoojung, Chungha, Kim Sohye, Zhou Jieqiong, Jung Chaeyeon, Kim Doyeon, Kang Mina and Im Nayoung will be standing in front of you again under the name I.O.I.
We wanted to meet the fans who have been waiting for us as soon as possible. Although Jeon Somi and Yoo Yeonjung were not able to join us at this time, they will be cheering us on from close by.
We will continue to communicate about I.O.I's preparations and promotion schedule. Once again, we're happy to be able to give good news to the fans that waited for us."
Jeon Somi and Yoo Yeonjung, however, were announced to sit out the group's promotions because they are currently focused on their own.
Unfortunately, this much-anticipated comeback has been hampered until December with the hope that the group will return as 11.
"IOI's comeback has been confirmed for December. The decision came about after taking into consideration the members' schedules, the completed quality of their comeback songs and other production preparations, etc. A specific date has yet to be set, but it will likely be in early December," a source said.
Further, the insiders claimed that the group is experiencing another hindrance as their progress to polish the preparations isn't smooth-sailing. This is, as per the rumors, caused by the controversies hounding the "Produce" survival show as well as Choi Yoojung's concerns about her health.
Also, their music video shoot is also slowed down as they haven't selected their title song.
"For now, the reunion date is unsure and may even be pushed back to 2020. We haven't confirmed the schedule since we postponed the comeback in October. [It is now] under discussion," representatives of the girl group stated.
"After postponing [I.O.I's] October comeback, we did not come to any final decisions about their future schedule. Although it was said that they'd be making a December comeback, it was never officially decided that they'd be coming back in December. We are currently in the midst of further internal discussions about whether they will come back within the year or whether they will prepare with the goal of a comeback next year," they added.
