Sitala of rookie K-pop girl group H1-KEY steps down

Sitala, a member of rookie girl group H1-KEY (pronounced high-key) is leaving the girl group, its label Grand Line Group (GLG) announced Wednesday, saying the decision was made due to Sitala's "personal reasons." "We have come to this ..

Sitala, a member of H1-KEY, is leaving the girl group. [ILGAN SPORTS]

Sitala, a member of rookie girl group H1-KEY (pronounced high-key) is leaving the girl group, its label Grand Line Group (GLG) announced Wednesday, saying the decision was made due to Sitala’s “personal reasons.”

“We have come to this conclusion after discussing the matter in-depth with the artist and the other members for a long time,” the label said in a statement. “Please support Sitala on her future journey moving forward and please encourage other H1-KEY members who will continue on with their activities.”

Sitala was the only Thai member in the four-member girl group. The other three members — Seoi, Yel and Riina — are Korean.

Even before her debut, Sitala was embroiled in controversy by Korean netizens, demanding the label to remove her from the group. The calls came after it was discovered that Sitala’s late father participated in Thailand’s anti-democracy campaign.

K-pop fans in Thailand also claimed that Sitala’s father was an elite who supported Thailand’s rule under military dictatorship and that Sitala once said in an interview that her role model was her father. However, GLG at the time said that Sitala will still be included in the group and that she “should not be subject to repercussions because of her deceased father’s past deeds.”

H1-KEY debuted with the single “Athletic Girl” on Jan. 5.

BY YIM SEUNG-HYE [yim.seunghye@joongang.co.kr]