Son Naeun has announced her departure from APINK ahead of the group’s 11th anniversary.
On April 8, it was reported that Son Naeun would no longer take part in APINK’s future activities, surprising netizens and fans of the group. Not long after, Naeun also personally announced this information through a handwritten letter.
Specifically, after The Fact published an article saying that Son Naeun decided to withdraw from APINK ahead of the group’s 11th anniversary, she wrote and shared a letter to confirm this is true.
Naeun’s full letter is as follows:
“Hello, this is Son Naeun.
I don’t know how to say this… I’ve thought a lot and now, as I’m writing this, I’m really nervous.
I will be leaving APINK, whom I have been with for the past 11 years.
Since APINK is a family that has been together for a long time, I thought a lot before making this decision. It was not an easy decision, but from now on, I plan to become a Panda and cheer for APINK.
The members, Chorong unnie, Bomi unnie, Eunji unnie, Namjoo, Hayoung… All the people who have been with APINK from the beginning until now, including the IST staff, thank you everyone for the hard work. Thank you, our precious fans. Looking back on the past and our memories, although I cannot express my feelings in words…
To everyone who gave me a happy time, who made my teens and twenties shine the most, I want to sincerely thank you all.
I will keep in my heart the name Son Naeun of APINK. I will try to show a better image in return for your love so that I don’t bring shame to that name.
Please love APINK a lot. I will also support everyone from the bottom of my heart.
Until now, this has been APINK’s Son Naeun.”
It was further reported that, after discussions held between IST Entertainment, YG Entertainment, APINK members and Naeun, an agreement was reached for Naeun to leave the group. Although Naeun and the members will walk separate paths, they will continue to support each other.
After Naeun posted this handwritten letter, IST Entertainment announced that APINK would continue promoting with 5 members starting with the release of their upcoming song to celebrate the group’s 11th debut anniversary (April 19), without Naeun. After more than a decade, APINK officially said goodbye to Naeun, the group’s most popular member. With her outstanding visuals and potential in acting, Naeun promises to achieve more success in the future.
Besides, many people think that Naeun is still more suitable as an idol. If she decides to develop her career as an actress, she needs to hone and develop her acting skills.
Some netizens’ comments:
- I knew she wouldn’t be active with the group in the future, but I didn’t expect her to leave so quickly. You also have to understand her because acting is so hard, that she won’t be able to run the schedule with the group if they make a comeback. But if she is determined to leave the group to pursue an acting career, she should try to hone her acting skills.
- The status of actors and idols in Korea is very different, so idols who can follow their acting career tend to leave the group. Filming is very hard and takes a lot of time, she has no time and energy for group activities. Not to mention now that Naeun is working in another company, it is even more difficult to unify the schedule between the two sides. But I still regret Naeun when she was an idol, I still think that she is more suitable to be an idol than an actress.
- Good luck to Son Naeun, thank you APINK Naeun for being a part of APINK for over a decade.
