On April 29, YG Entertainment unveiled Kayci as the next member of the new girl group. She follows previously introduced members Evelli and Chanya. According to her official profile, Kayci is Chinese-Korean. She was born to a Korean father and Chinese mother and was raised in China. Her profile also states that she was born on July 7, 2012, making her 13 years old.
Kayci has reportedly trained under YG Entertainment for 1 year and 6 months. Her profile describes her as multilingual, with the ability to speak Korean, Chinese, and English. She has also been introduced to the position of “all-rounder,” raising curiosity about her performance skills ahead of Next Monster’s official debut.
YG Entertainment first announced plans for the new girl group on May 25, 2025. At the time, the agency revealed that 4 members had already been selected for the team. Since then, YG has been gradually introducing the members through a countdown-style rollout.
While many fans showed excitement over Kayci’s reveal, her age quickly became a major topic of discussion. A number of netizens expressed concern that Kayci is only 13 years old, especially when combined with the fact that she has already spent 1 year and 6 months as a trainee. Some fans questioned whether someone so young should be introduced to the public as part of a major K-pop debut project.
The discussion has once again brought attention to the K-pop industry’s long-running debate over very young idols, trainee systems, and the pressure placed on minors before debut. Despite the backlash, interest in Next Monster continues to grow as fans wait to see how YG Entertainment will introduce the final member and when the group will officially debut.
Sources: Koreaboo
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