TWICE’s Chaeyoung Leaves JYP Entertainment While Continuing Group Activities

TWICE member Chaeyoung has ended her exclusive relationship with JYP Entertainment after 14 years, while making clear that she will remain part of the group. The singer announced the change directly to fans on August 13, describing it as the beginning of a new creative chapter rather than a departure from TWICE.

Chaeyoung said she wanted ONCE, TWICE’s official fandom, to hear the news from her first. She thanked JYP Entertainment and Team TWICE for supporting and trusting her throughout the 14 years she spent with the company. She also expressed gratitude to her fellow members, describing them as a continuing source of strength and support.

The central point of her message was that her status within TWICE is not changing. Chaeyoung said everything she has received grew from her time in the group and called TWICE her roots. The distinction separates an agency contract from group membership: she is leaving the company that managed her career, but she is not announcing an exit from the nine-member act.

A new platform for Chaeyoung’s music

Alongside the contract news, Chaeyoung introduced her next phase through a project called LIL FANTASY. She described it as a world in which she can explore and build her own music. The wording points toward a more self-directed creative framework, although she did not announce a new agency, release date, album or formal business structure.

Her statement presented LIL FANTASY and TWICE as connected parts of the same career rather than competing identities. Chaeyoung said she hopes both her work as a TWICE member and the music she creates through the new project will hold meaning for listeners. She also described the move as a challenge and promised to keep growing as both a person and an artist.

The announcement makes Chaeyoung the second TWICE member to leave JYP Entertainment while maintaining a connection to the group. Jeongyeon previously moved to VARO Entertainment to pursue acting activities, creating an earlier example of a member establishing an individual management path without treating that move as a withdrawal from TWICE.

Group identity beyond one management company

Chaeyoung’s decision highlights a structure that has become increasingly visible among long-running K-pop acts. An artist’s individual representation can change while group activities continue through coordination with the original company. In practical terms, that can allow members to seek specialized support for solo music, acting or other work while preserving the group brand and shared performance schedule.

For TWICE, the statement is especially significant because Chaeyoung emphasized continuity at a moment when contract decisions naturally attract questions about the group’s future. Her message did not provide operational details about how future solo and group schedules will be managed. Instead, it focused on reassuring fans that the change concerns her individual path and not her commitment to TWICE.

Chaeyoung joined JYP Entertainment as a trainee and debuted with TWICE in 2015. Across the group’s career, she became known as a rapper, vocalist and songwriter, while also developing a visual and musical identity that often leaned toward personal illustration, alternative styling and self-expression. The new LIL FANTASY name gives that individual work a clearer banner as she moves outside JYP’s direct management.

What has—and has not—been announced

The confirmed facts remain limited but clear. Chaeyoung has left JYP Entertainment after 14 years, intends to continue participating in TWICE, and plans to develop music through LIL FANTASY. She has not named a replacement agency or disclosed a timetable for her next solo release. No change to TWICE’s membership was announced.

That careful separation is important because agency departures are often interpreted as signs of a group breakup. Chaeyoung’s own message argues against that reading. She framed TWICE as the foundation of her career and expressed confidence that her group identity can continue alongside a more independent creative direction.

The next stage will depend on how LIL FANTASY develops and how future schedules are coordinated, but the immediate message is one of expansion rather than closure. Chaeyoung is stepping away from the company where she trained and debuted, yet she is carrying the TWICE name into the next phase. For fans, the announcement establishes two parallel expectations: continued group participation and a newly defined space for music shaped around her own ideas.