The ‘full contract renewal’ of the top group Red Velvet is just around the corner. Following Seulgi and Irene, member Joy also revealed on the 14th that she had renewed her contract with SM Entertainment (SM), the agency she had been with for 10 years, making it a hot topic.

Whether Wendy and Yeri of the five members will renew their contracts remains to be seen, but there is a positive atmosphere inside and outside the music industry that the three of them have decided to remain with SM and that the group‘s activities will continue smoothly.

On this day, SM stated, “We are happy that we can continue our beautiful journey with Joy, following Seulgi and Irene. “I will work hard to fully demonstrate my infinite potential not only through Red Velvet group activities but also as a solo artist Joy and as actress Park Soo Young,” they said.

Joy also said through her agency, “I had deep conversations with those who have been with me for the past 10 years based on faith and belief, and I felt that I want to continue to move forward together in a good direction,” and “I will do my best to show my fans various sides of myself through positive synergy with SM.”

Joy, who debuted as a member of Red Velvet in August 2014, is also active as an actress, appearing in various dramas such as ‘The Great Seducer’, ‘She Loves Lies Too Much’, ‘Only One Person’. Because of this, some people said that he was in contact with an agency specializing in actors, but it has been reported that Joy chose to stay with SM for team activities.

Before Joy’s exclusive contract was announced, Red Velvet showed their loyalty to SM by appearing at the ‘SM Town Live 2025’ held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 11th and 12th. At the concert, the four members, excluding Wendy who was absent due to personal reasons, performed as a group and received applause.

With some speculating that Red Velvet will enjoy a second heyday through contract renewal, fans are also paying attention to the ‘re-contract renewal trend’ that has been popular among K-pop groups recently. Previously, global groups such as Stray Kids and (G)I-dle successfully renewed their contracts with their agencies as a whole, renewing their will to continue team activities.


Reporter Yoo Ji-hye yjh0304@donga.com