TWICE's Jihyo leaves JYP after 21 years, launches her own agency Emithaus

Jihyo, the leader of the South Korean girl group TWICE, announced on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, that she has left JYP Entertainment, the company that trained and managed her for 21 years, and has set up her own agency, Emithaus. In a handwritten letter posted on social media, she said her contract with JYP had ended and that her journey with the company, which began when she was a child, had come to a close. She plans to pursue her solo music career through the new agency while continuing her activities with TWICE.

Jihyo has spent her whole professional life inside one company, from child trainee to member of one of K-pop's best-known girl groups. Her decision separates her individual career from that company while keeping the group alive. Running a personal agency gives an artist more control over solo music, schedules and business decisions, at the cost of taking on the risks that an agency used to carry.

The fact that she will continue with TWICE matters most to the group's fans, because it means the members can still release music and perform together even as individual contracts take different paths. How TWICE's group activities will be coordinated between JYP and Jihyo's new agency has not been set out in the reports.

K-pop has a large international following, including in India, and announcements like this are followed closely by fans far beyond South Korea. Solo releases from a new agency are typically distributed worldwide through streaming platforms, so Indian fans will be able to follow Jihyo's next steps as they happen.

The 21 years Jihyo spent with JYP also show how long the K-pop training system can tie an artist to one company. Her move adds to a wider conversation in the industry about artists' independence once their first long contracts end.

Short-term: Fans can expect announcements from Emithaus on Jihyo's next solo releases and schedules. JYP and Emithaus will need to coordinate on her work with TWICE.

Long-term: If the arrangement works, it adds to a model in which K-pop group members manage solo careers independently while continuing the group, which could shape contract talks for other idols reaching the end of their first terms.

Who is affected: Jihyo and her fellow TWICE members, JYP Entertainment, fans in South Korea, India and around the world, and other K-pop artists approaching contract renewal.

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