Article: Irene's contract renewal is at a crossroads.. Will we no longer be able to see Red Velvet?
Source: STAR News
Red Velvet's Irene is reportedly not renewing her contract with SM.
According to reports, Red Velvet's renewal is currently ambiguous. Leader Irene is not renewing her contract. Therefore, it's said that SM is currently unable to confirm Red Velvet's activities such as albums, performances, and events.
In order for the group to continue activities smoothly, all members must renew their contracts with SM. Of course, Red Velvet can be protected by adding a clause to maintain group activities even after leaving, but this requires strong loyalty that continues even without a beautiful farewell or renewal of contract with the original agency.
Red Velvet recently announced in a live broadcast last month that they are preparing their 3rd full-length album in the second half of this year. However, it's unclear whether the planned schedule can be properly implemented if the contract renewals go wrong.
In particular, after announcements of 'SM 3.0' era which broke away from Lee Soo-man's exclusive producing system, Lee Soo-man stepped down and many of his artists including Kim Min-jong, Super Junior's Kyunhyun, Eunhyuk, and Donghae, Girls' Generation Sunny, Shin Dong-yeop and Lee Hye-sung are leaving SM leading to Red Velvet's.
It remains to be seen whether the contract will be renewed. In addition, since SM is a listed company, the impact on the stock price cannot be avoided.
