Lee Hi will be leaving YG Entertainment.

The agency made the announcement on December 31, which reads as follows:

We ask for even greater cheers and support from fans as Lee Hi embarks on a new beginning and activities.

We wish to express our gratitude to Lee Hi for making a name for herself for the past seven years as a YG artist, and we will always be sincerely supporting her.

After ending the first season of “K-Pop Star” as the runner-up in 2011, Lee Hi signed an exclusive contract with YG Entertainment and made her debut in 2012, growing as a ‘representative next generation female vocalist’ with her signature vocal tone and talent.

As her exclusive contract was coming to an end, our agency held long and sincere discussions with Lee Hi, and we have come to the decision to support each other’s futures from our respective separate places.

Following the news, Lee Hi took to her personal Instagram account to write a heartfelt letter about the new change in her life.

Hello, everyone. This is Lee Hi.

I’m here to greet you with news that is new and little unfamiliar on the last day of 2019. As of the end of this year, I will be leaving the nest of YG, a place I have been with for a long time.

As we have spent so much time together, I have so many memories when I look back. At 16 years old, I went to audition with a dream that was so big that it almost appeared reckless, I was able to join YG, an agency I’d looked up to when I was younger, and with the help of great people, I completed and released my first single “1.2.3.4” and album “First Love.” The memory of my first day in the recording studio and being amazed at hearing my own voice. That October, when I was monitoring the album I’d released with a racing heart. Everything is still fresh, like it happened yesterday.

Even when I was just starting as a singer, I thought time was going by so fast, and now I’ve gone from one album to three albums. I was 17 years old and I am now 24. It still feels like time is going by so fast, and though I feel a little sad on one hand, those times have also remained as precious memories I will never forget.

Of course, it wasn’t always easy, but I think I was actually quite lucky in a lot of ways. The staff, who always worked hard for me behind the scenes and who are like old friends and family to me, and the amazing things we built together will be something I will never forget.

As this is a decision I made after a long period of thinking it through, I want to sincerely thank the many people at YG who supported my decision and new start, and I will do my best to repay everyone with better music. As I am leaving the agency that I spent 8 years with, which is a long time, and was there for my growth, I will be even more prudent when choosing the next agency I will be with, and I hope to greet you soon with good news.

I hope the new year will be filled with even better things.