K-pop boy band 2PM’s Lee Jun-ho to leave JYP Entertainment
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The label will continue to oversee Lee Jun-ho’s activities in Japan, where he has released seven EPs as a solo singer.
PHOTO: JYP ENTERTAINMENT
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SEOUL – K-pop boy band 2PM member Lee Jun-ho will leave his label JYP Entertainment after 17 years, the company said on March 20.
The two parties decided not to renew Lee’s contract, which expires in April. But the label will continue to oversee the 35-year-old singer-actor’s activities in Japan, where he has released seven EPs as a solo singer.
JYP Entertainment said in a statement: “We sincerely thank Lee Jun-ho for walking alongside the company for the past 17 years, contributing to its growth and journey.”
Lee was also quoted in the same statement as saying: “I am truly grateful for the company’s generous support over the last 17 years. I will always cherish the bond we have built and the encouragement I’ve received.”
He made his debut in 2008 as part of 2PM, a sextet known for hit songs like Heartbeat (2009) and A.D.T.O.Y (2013).
The star, also known mononymously as Junho, branched into acting in 2013 with the thriller film Cold Eyes. He has since starred in popular K-dramas such as The Red Sleeve (2021 to 2022) and King The Land (2023).
He returned from Sao Paulo earlier in March after a two-day solo fan concert titled Midnight Sun. The Brazilian capital was the last stop of a concert tour that began in Incheon, South Korea, and included cities like Tokyo and Taipei.
He last held a solo fan meet in Singapore at The Star Theatre in December 2023.
Next on Lee’s agenda is the Netflix series Cashero, slated to premiere in late 2025, in which he plays a superpower-wielding civil servant. He will co-star with Pachinko’s (2022 to present) Kim Min-ha in the drama series Typhoon Trading Company, about a small business trying to navigate the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
2PM are still an act under JYP Entertainment, though members Taecyeon and Chansung have also left the agency as solo artistes.
The group last released a Korean studio album, Must, in June 2021, followed by a Japanese EP in September that year. They also held their 15th-anniversary concerts in 2023 in Seoul and Tokyo. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
