[FACTCHECK] At Blackpink's seventh anniversary, 'To renew or not to renew' is the question

After years of breaking records and writing history, Blackpink celebrated the seventh anniversary of its debut on Tuesday with a gigantic elephant sitting in the center of the celebration hall — will all four members renew their contracts with YG ...

Girl group Blackpink [YG ENTERTAINMENT]

The path to success is slow for some stars, but a meteoric rise right to the top for others. The latter was the case for girl group Blackpink, rightly crowned the queen of K-pop since day one of its debut on Aug. 8, 2016.

After years of breaking records and writing history, the quartet celebrates the seventh anniversary of its debut on Tuesday with a gigantic elephant sitting in the center of the celebration hall — will all four members renew their contracts with YG Entertainment?

Analysts are betting on the renewals, citing YG Entertainment’s prompt response to Korean news reports in July 2023 that Blackpink member Lisa is considering leaving the company due to differences in opinions. The company made a rebuttal just 15 minutes after the first report, a rare move for an agency known for its slow feedback to such reports.

But one thing to note is that Blackpink's members have been actively pursuing their solo careers, which will make it easier for each of them to pave their new solo careers outside of the Blackpink umbrella.

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BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]