SEOUL - In a K-pop industry where management agencies have a big say over what their artists do, BigBang singer Seungri seems to have made his own decision to quit showbiz.

Commenting on his announcement on March 11 that he would bow out amid a police probe into his procurement of prostitutes for VIP clients of his Burning Sun club, the boyband's management agency YG Entertainment said it had not been consulted.

According to lifestyle portal allkpop, a statement from YG said: "We have confirmed that Seungri has released a message (online) to the public about retirement. It was something that he uploaded himself without consulting YG Entertainment first.

"It has still yet to be decided whether his contract will be terminated."

But not all K-pop fans are convinced that Seungri acted alone and that YG was in the dark, with talk swirling that the singer was actually booted out, to protect the money-spinning BigBang brand name.

The other members of the boyband, who are serving military service, have not commented on the scandal so far but that has not prevented their fans from asking them to either leave the group, or come together to force Seungri out.