YG Entertainment finally made an official announcement about 2NE1's breakup in November 2016. Well, it absolutely was a very sad news for Black Jack. Park Bom's drug scandal in 2014 was the prologue to 2NE1's breakup. Since then, 2NE1's comeback has been delayed again and again, while Minzy, who felt frustrated about just wasting time doing nothing decided to leave the team in April 2016. Minzy couldn't even have a chance to release her solo album during 2NE1's 2-year hiatus, and she suffered from anxiety about her future.
Since Minzy left 2NE1, the rest 3 members, CL, Sandara Park and Park Bom have prepared for their comeback, and YG hoped 2NE1 will make another strong comeback. However, things have changed. Just before YG made an official announcement about 2NE1’s breakup, people in the k-pop world raised the possibility that 2NE1's comeback will be delayed again due to "Choi Soon Sil Gate." Korea was being rocked by the political scandal, while YG has been suspected to be connected to the scandal in some way. In this situation, people began to believe that Park Bom could escape punishment when she was mixed up in a drug scandal thanks to President Park Geun Hye’s confidants Choi Soon Sil and Chae Eun Taek, while the public criticism against her got stronger again.
What do you think it means? CL and Sandara Park might have to wait another 2 years to make a comeback as 2NE1 due to Park Bom. Don’t you think it's too harsh to them? So, YG concluded that the agency couldn’t control this kind of situation any more and it had no choice but to part with Park Bom.
By the way, do you think YG decided to part with Park Bom only because the agency is worried about the future of the 2NE1 members? No, that's not all.
You know, YG's new girl group BLACKPINK debuted in august 2016. When BLACKPINK debuted, the girl group received great attention from people because, yeah, the girl group was first ever YG's rookie girl group in 7 years. Of course, some people said they could never be as successful as 2NE1, but the results exceeded expectation. BLACKPINK has topped various music charts with their debut album, gaining huge popularity at home and abroad. And the girl group made a very successful comeback with their second album in November 2016.
What do you think one of the reasons why YG didn't even think about 2NE1's breakup when Park Bom linked her name with a drug scandal? It was because 2NE1 was one and only girl group who could make big money for the agency. But things have changed. BLACKPINK is doing great in the k-pop world, and YG is now zeroing in on the young and fresh girl group. What YG thinks about BLACKPINK is that the girl group has as good singing ability as 2NE1 but is much prettier than the girl group. It’s true YG’s growth was largely credited to 2NE1, but at this point in time, YG’s hope is BLACKPINK, not 2NE1.
And it was also a surprising news that YG decided to part with WINNER's Nam Taehyun. You know, it has been just 2 months since the agency announced that he's going to take some break due to his health problem.
By the way, there are reasons why YG could make this kind of quick decision on WINNER and Nam Taehyun. First, YG learned a lesson from Park Bom's case. YG couldn't make the other WINNER members wait for endless hours. Second, it has been just 2 months since Nam Taehyun stopped his activity, but it has been a long time since he became entangled in "the problem," which means YG can't be sure that the problem will be solved soon. Third, YG got iKON. The agency doesn't need to focus only on WINNER because iKON is doing good now and the group is receiving attention as the next BIGBANG.
