Updated November 21 KST:

The agency of girl group Busters has revised their statement regarding leader Minji’s departure. They said, “We apologize for causing criticism through our hastily written statement.” They stated that Minji’s parents have also apologized after a controversy arose about a post they made on social media. The agency stated that the reason for Minji’s departure was not complaints with the agency, and so they discussed her future activities together and the “controversy on social media” has come to a close.

On November 20, the agency issued the following statement:

Hello, this is Marbling. First, we want to apologize for delivering such unfortunate news to fans who love Busters. The fans, our company, and her parents all love Minji. However, we realized that a child could become hurt by a clash of opinions between adults, and we amicably reached an agreement without blaming each other and decided to accept Minji’s departure. We do not want the company to be criticized or Minji to be criticized. Although Minji’s activities with Busters are ending, we will be supporting her in her scheduled engagements such as the screening for the film she appears in and the drama filming that will take place in January. We apologize once again to all the fans who must have been surprised by the sudden news, and we ask everyone to refrain from spreading speculative information regarding this situation. We ask for warm support and encouragement for Busters and Minji in the future. We will return as more mature agency.

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Original Article:

Busters’ Minji will be departing from the group.

On November 18 Marbling Entertainment announced through Busters’ official fan cafe that Minji is leaving the group.

Read the full statement below:

Hello, this is Marbling. First, we want to apologize for delivering such unfortunate news to fans who love Busters. Member Minji’s parents have expressed their dissatisfaction with her current activities from about two months ago and revealed their intent [for Minji’s] departure. The company has worked hard to carry out individual activities, and we have distributed roles and other activities that matched each of the members’ characters. Minji participated in Fashion Week, and we were working on getting her cast as a minor role in a drama, but it seems that this has not satisfied their demands. We respected her parents’ opinion and discussed the timing of her departure, and we thought it was best to give her plenty of time to say farewell to fans. Initially, after consulting with her parents, we planned on announcing her departure near the end of November to give her time to say farewell to fans through the Makestar fan meeting and the two-year anniversary concert on December 14. However, Minji’s parents suddenly expressed that it would be impossible for her to continue promoting, and the company decided that it would be difficult to continue her management, so we terminated the contract without any conditions. We ask for your understanding in inevitably delivering this news in writing. In the meantime, Busters will carry out activities as a four-member group, and we are currently discussing when to reveal the new member. We apologize once again to all the fans who must have been surprised by the sudden news, and we ask everyone to refrain from spreading speculative information regarding this situation. We ask for warm support and encouragement for Busters and Minji in the future. We will return as more mature agency. Thank you.

Busters made their debut in 2017, and they recently made their comeback in July with “Pinky Promise.”

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