Kibum & HJB have every right to get mad ... so are we!

Following the news of U-KISS’s Kim Kibum and Alexander leaving the group due to the agency desiring member replacements, Kim Kibum recently made an appearance on KBS’s “Entertainers” to explain the current situation in a bit more depth.

You can read the transcription of his interview down below.

Hello, this is Kim Kibum.

First of all, I’m very sorry for having to meet everyone for this news.

And I’m immensely sorry for having to reveal my no make-up face… I’ve been having a hard time you see… (Laughs)

Q: What is the current situation?

A: My contract with my former agency has been cancelled. Around February, the agency told me that they would like to do some member replacements, and when I asked if it was me who was to get replaced, they replied yes.

First of all, they said my vocal role in the group was weak. I respected my agency’s opinion and agreed to cancel my contract.

Q: What is the reason behind “Kim Kibum withdrawing” being such a hot topic of discussion?

A: (Laughs) Well, I think there were a lot of areas I lacked in. I think my capability as a singer was lacking.

Q: There is talk that you withdrew to focus on your business?

I don’t know how that rumor came about. Because my activities ended after my contract was cancelled, for about a month I didn’t participate in activities during U-KISS’s promotions.

To be honest, I didn’t say anything in that time because I didn’t want it to affect the other members. I think that caused the misunderstanding. Our fans were misunderstanding the situation, and were saying things like, “Has he stopped U-KISS promotions because of his business?” and “If you’re going to put your focus on your business, then just become an entrepreneur. So I think that misunderstanding came about during that one month.

Q: What is the response from fans?

A: There are a lot of fans who’ve told me to come back, and there are a lot who say it’s not U-KISS without seven members. I’m apologetic towards the fans because of how this situation came out to be. They believed in me, so I’m hurt that Alexander and I had to withdraw from U-KISS. I’m a bit disappointed that I didn’t get to stay on my will.

If U-KISS becomes more successful with member replacements, then I guess I’m fine with that.

Q: What was your brother’s reaction to the situation?

My brother seemed really hurt that we couldn’t go right till the end together, and that I ended up getting off the bus halfway through. He said to me, “I wanted you to do well, I don’t know how the situation came to be like this.”

I was okay with it, but my brother got angry (Laughs). But he said that things like this can happen, and told me to always have strength.

I’m planning to push forward with my personal activities, and I’ll working hard to achieve success with my character business.

I’m very sorry that I had to show myself in a situation like this, but I will do my best to show a better image of myself.


source : @allkpop
credit : rocketboxx


not surprise to know that HJB got mad at what the company did to his little brother. the company's reason of terminating his contract is completely BS! Kibum's not a weak singer. he really has a beautiful voice! it's just that he's not allocated enough lines to showcase his voice. and it's not the members fault at all! it's the company! he & Kiseop actually has a really good voice. it's not the usual Korean (boy) voice that i really don't but they can carry a tune pretty well. i've heard it live! firsthand! why didn't they just tell Kibum that they don't like him anymore. straightforward but at least honest. because really, that's their only reason and it's not even valid. i won't be surprise if they'll will replace the members one by one by the usual Korean boy members w/ abs and muscles and voices that are very common for Korean male singers. goodness! they should've just created a new group altogether!

x-posted at ukiss