X1, Yellow Bee, NeonPunch – Why These 5 K-Pop Groups Disbanded In 2020

While the year 2020 has seen the debut of some good music bands like Cravity and Weeekly, it has also left fans with a broken heart as the year has also seen the downfall of many groups.

Here are 5 K-pop groups that headed toward Splitsville in 2020 and the reasons that caused their disbandment.

1. Yellow Bee

The five-member girl group debuted with the single "Hiccup" under Addiction Entertainment In 2017.

The label, on May 25 this year, notified their fans through an Instagram post that the band would be taking a break for a while due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They also informed that the release of their upcoming single, originally scheduled for June, would be postponed.

However, on July 12, the label shared another post announcing the group’s disbandment. It released a rather controversial statement slut-shaming one of its members, reveals Allkpop.

"With member B carrying on her rather slutty lifestyle, plus the other members being unable to come to an agreement, we’ve decided that the group cannot stay together."

The statement set out a furor after which the label later edited the post and later deleted it altogether from their Instagram account.

A week later, Ari, a former member of the band shared a post on her Instagram revealing that the members were subject to neglect, exploitation, sexual harassment, and sexual assault from managers and the company staff.

2. NeonPunch

Another 5-member girl group "NeonPunch" who debuted under A100 Entertainment in June 2018 officially announced their disbandment in August 2020.

“There is good news for the fans who have been waiting to see Neon Punch, we promise that members Dayeon, Baekah, and Iaan will re-debut as a new team, XUM,” an Instagram post from the band read.

3. Spectrum

The boy band debuted in May 2018 under the Wynn Entertainment. The 7-member boy band had the same fate as the NeonPunch. In July 2020, the band announced its disbandment.

The agency released a statement saying, "We sincerely apologize for bringing such unfortunate news. Due to the worsening situation at our agency for reasons including COVID-19, we're no longer able to maintain Spectrum. As a result, Wynn Entertainment has terminated our contracts with the 6 members of Spectrum as of July 10, 2020."

Another tragedy had hit the group when a member of the band, Dongyoon died in July 2018, He was only 20.

4. TREI

This three-member boy band that included Lee Jae Jun, Chae Chang Hyun and Kim Jun Tae made an official debut in February 2019 with their first mini-album, "Born."

A year later on June 15, Hyun announced on his Instagram that he had left both the group and agency. Three days later on June 18, TREI's leader Lee Jaejun officially announced the disbandment via the group's official fan cafe.

Jaejun said that though he wanted to make this work, he decided against continuing.

"I talked with the members for a long time about this matter, and we collectively determined that it would be difficult to keep this team going," he wrote.

The members have not specified a reason behind the split but stated that the decision was mutual.

5. X1

The boy band first appeared on a reality TV show Produce X 101 featured on the channel Mnet. The 11 member group made their debut on August 27, 2019, with the single "Flash" under Swing Entertainment.

The group came under scanner for vote manipulation. In September 2019, Korean police confirmed that the results of the show had been rigged. Even though the band tried to tackle the problems and the legal issues, public pressure over the controversy kept weighing them down.

In Jan 2020, the agency announced the disbandment.

“After negotiation between X1 members and their companies under the condition of unanimous agreement, an agreement was not reached and have thus decided on their disbandment," read a combined release from the companies.

The band disbanded only four months after its debut.