It seems that Oh My Girl’s Jiho is not renewing her contract after all. Her agency, WM Entertainment, confirmed on May 9 that she has decided to part ways while the rest of the members will be continuing their journey with the girl group.
According to the official statement from WM Entertainment, the decision to end Jiho’s contract was made after lengthy and in-depth discussions. The agency also expressed its gratitude to Jiho for being with the company for seven years.
After Jiho’s departure, Oh My Girl will function as a six-member group- Mimi, Arin, Hyojung, YooA, Yubin, and Seunghee.
Originally an eight-member group, JinE had previously left Oh My Girl due to health issues in October 2017.
Jiho’s Debut And Journey With Oh My Girl
Jiho, born Kim Ji Ho, hails from Okcheon, North Chungcheong, South Korea. Before her debut, she joined WM Entertainment in 2011 and trained for almost four years.
On April 21, 2015, the agency announced that Jiho would debut with Oh My Girl as a lead vocalist and a visual of the group. The KPOP group shortly released their first EP, Oh My Girl, followed by the second EP, Closer.
During her journey with Oh My Girl, Jiho and her group members made several comebacks and gained commercial success. But in mid-2019, she received treatment from the hospital due to anxiety and degrading health symptoms. The agency announced her hiatus in January 2020 due to health issues and stress.
Nevertheless, the hard-working Jiho continued as a seven-member group of Oh My Girl till May 2022.
What’s Next For Jiho After Oh My Girl?
Miracles are sad about the announcement of Jiho’s departure from Oh My Girl, but they are also curious to know about her future career.
To Oh My Girl’s fandom Miracle, Jiho wrote a handwritten letter where she said that she would be cheering for the future activities of ‘Oh My Girl’ not as a member but as a MIRACLE.
The letter translates to English as:
“Hello Miracles, This is Jiho. I’m writing this letter because I have some news to tell Miracles. I talked several times with the company about my future and we’ve concluded to support each other on the paths we would like to take in the future. I will be cheering for the future activities of Oh My Girl not as a member but as a Miracle. Numerous conversations we have had over the past seven years, moments we met every Monday and the love and supports Miracles gave me are all truly unforgettable. I really want to say thank you to Miracles for creating the miraculous moments in my life. Because of you, I was able to grow and be happier over the past seven years. I hope that happiness is also conveyed to Miracles. I was really bad at expressing myself, but I learned a lot from Miracle, who always showed greater love every time I expressed it. As much as I learned from Miracles, I will become a wonderful Miracle. I can’t tell you in detail about my future steps, but I promise you this one thing. No matter what I do in the future, I will do my best to repay you with a good image. Let’s cheer together in the future!” – Jiho.
Unfortunately, at the time, Jiho said that she could not tell about her future steps. But the 25-years-old vocalist has promised that no matter what she does in the future, she will do her best to repay the fans with her excellent image. She also expressed her gratitude to Miracle for being able to grow and be happy for those past seven years.
While Jiho has yet to announce her next step in her career, the media reports state that she wants to take a new challenge and continue her journey as an artist.
