BtoB and PENTAGON’s Hongseok leave CUBE Entertainment

K-pop boyband BtoB and Hongseok of PENTAGON have left long-time agency CUBE Entertainment.

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CUBE Entertainment announced today (November 6) that all six members of K-pop boyband BtoB would not be renewing their contracts, with the agency saying that it was “mutually decided”, as translated by Koreaboo.

The news comes just days after it was reported that the contracts of five BtoB members had ended, with CUBE Entertainment saying that it and the K-pop idols were “working through this situation with an open mindset, looking at various options”.

According to a new report today by Sports Chosun, BtoB had decided to leave CUBE Entertainment as early as last week over the trademark of the group’s name. Meanwhile, the K-pop agency told Dispatch that it is “positively discussing trademark rights with the BTOB members”.

“We cannot provide details about the trademark rights discussions,” CUBE Entertainment added. “It is difficult for us to confirm the source of the information mentioned in the article.”

[공지] 비투비 전속계약 종료 안내 pic.twitter.com/h1qisb2rC4

— BTOB·비투비 (@OFFICIALBTOB) November 6, 2023

At the same time, CUBE Entertainment has also announced that the company and PENTAGON member Hongseok have “mutually decided to terminate his exclusive contract” with the K-pop agency, as translated by Koreaboo.

He is the seventh member of PENTAGON to leave CUBE Entertainment, following Yeo One, Yan An, Yuto, Kino and Wooseok in October 2023. Meanwhile, founding member E’Dawn – now known as soloist Dawn – left both CUBE Entertainment and PENTAGON in 2018.

[공지] 펜타곤 홍석 전속계약 종료 안내 pic.twitter.com/ywaqsdqfBF

— PENTAGON·펜타곤 (@CUBE_PTG) November 6, 2023

In other K-pop news, Girls’ Generation singer Taeyeon has announced the release date of her fifth mini-album, ‘To. X’, following a months-long delay. SM Entertainment first revealed in February 2023 that it was planning to release new music by Taeyeon in April, but that never materialised.

Taeyeon’s fifth mini-album was later pushed back to the third quarter of 2023, according to a preview of upcoming music releases SM Entertainment published in May 2023. However, Taeyeon did not release any new music within that time frame either.