Breaking: iKON's BI Announces Departure From the Group

[dallinferno.livejournal.com]

BREAKING: #BI Announces Departure From #iKON https://t.co/nv1XV3ITwc pic.twitter.com/B4aB08eN46

— Soompi (@soompi) June 12, 2019

Following Dispatch’s report about iKON’s B.I allegedly attempting to purchase illegal drugs, B.I revealed his plans to leave the team through a statement on Instagram.

His official statement is as below:

This is Kim Han Bin.

First, I would like to sincerely apologize for stirring up trouble due to my tremendously inappropriate actions.

It is true that I wanted to rely on something that I shouldn’t have had any interest in due to going through a hard and painful time. However, I was too scared and fearful to do it.

Even so, I am so ashamed and apologetic to fans who were greatly disappointed and hurt because of my wrong words and actions.

I intend to humbly self-reflect on my mistake and leave the team.

Once again, I bow my head down and sincerely apologize to fans and the members. I apologize.



Source: Soompi 1, 2, Naver

Comments

[ironmangina.livejournal.com]

This r/kpop comment pretty much sums up my feelings:

"Understandable. Whether or not he actually took the drugs, the fact that he tried to and this issue wasn't even looked into the police is all part of a larger issue. And while the group may suffer in terms of their music production due to his absence, him staying could do just as much damage. He certainly isn't TOP level to go through such a scandal and still stay with the group.

I wish him well but I can't feel sorry for him and certainly not YGE. Doing or trying to do something that is blatantly illegal in your country is just not worth it ma."

I'd also add that female idols go down for so much less than this, so that adds onto the whole not feeling sorry thing.

[pseudo-shigure.livejournal.com]

LOL what? so he attempted to purchase drugs? and now he left the group bc he's embarrassed? but he's ikon lol.

wow yg just have nothing left, the girls and akmu should just leave.

[petecarl.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow. Was not expecting this. I guess YG decided they couldn't defend him with the right microscope they're under right now. I don't really care that he did drugs, but the police corruption and yge must be looked into.

I wonder how ikon will go forward from here? He was one of their more popular member/face of the group. Is he also terminating his contract with YG or just leaving the group?

[torontok.livejournal.com]

They just confirmed that his contract is terminated

[benihime99.livejournal.com]

XD
I'm sorry but I can only laugh at this JE throwback


On second thought, fuck this asshole for doing this in the midst of Lee Hi comeback

[torontok.livejournal.com]

This actually occurred back in 2016 but Dispatch only exposed it now.

[torontok.livejournal.com]

He's an absolute fool and I have zero sympathy for him. He fucked over his group AND managed to evade proper justice because of his company.

[rockerista03.livejournal.com]

Man, I was actually rooting for B.I and iKON, especially since he made their sound. But I can’t feel sorry too, much like the r/kpop comment posted above.

On another note, is 2019 finally YG’s year of reckoning.

[premonitioner.livejournal.com]

His fucking messages with the dealer were SO FUNNY and cringe I'd retire just from people knowing I said that shit, nevermind from them knowing I dropped/wanted to drop acid

[sjtaazrz.livejournal.com]

The messages were so weird.

He was really trying to bargain with his dealer about buying in bulk to save time/money and thinking he was going to have a trip that makes him a genius. Wow...

[petecarl.livejournal.com]

Saw this comment on AJ, and it suddenly makes a lot of sense why Ikon were shipped off to Japan:

"This case would explain why iKON was shipped out to Japan and they barely promoted in Korea after their debut.
We thought YGE was mismanaging iKON but it looks like they were making the group keep a low profile while still earning money via touring.

My friend is an iKONIC and she used to complain how strict YGE was with the members. Apparently they weren’t allowed to leave the hotels without staff.
Again this case would explain so much."

[friedchickeneu.livejournal.com]

sucks because he made ikon’s sound and was pretty good at it but do i feel bad for him? not really. maybe 2019 is the year yg’s finally gonna be taken down. can’t say i feel sorry because it’s a shitty company with a misogynistic and huge asshole of a ceo (or is it ex-ceo now?).

lmao at all the fangirls defending all their oppas though but had no energy to fight for mistreated ggs.

hope the girls and akmu finally leave this shithole.

[annayism.livejournal.com]

damn this happened in 2016 and it only took him 1 day to drop out of the group? he must have really wanted to gtfo

[scionofawhisper.livejournal.com]

lmfao! That's a good point. Maybe everyone in YG is just looking for a way to escape, tho I don't think he's left YG? idk

nm, apparently he had his contract terminated, lol. YG cleaning up when the times call for it...

[jyusou.livejournal.com]

Damn this is a bombshell. I need to catch up on details for this story though, this flew totally under my radar.

[ironmangina.livejournal.com]

You're not missing much. The news of him trying to get drugs in 2016 broke literally like 5 or 6 hours ago

[scionofawhisper.livejournal.com]

Wow what. Was not expecting this turn of events...... not from a YG dude. I don't really care either way tho.
Ikon's image is BI and Bobby to most people that aren't really fans so it feels so odd for him to leave.
Like, wow. I guess he'll probably stay at YG and make music tho? edit: kay, he's gone for good. whoop.

What's lsd like anyway?

[mntsuklaa.livejournal.com]

It's a bit long (20ish mins) but here's Henry Rollins telling about the one and only time he ever did LSD. This story is hilarious.
https://youtu.be/5vhaQIp5PBs

[gathyou.livejournal.com]

????????????????
He was introduced as YGE's golden boy and the main reason behind iKon's sound, I definitively NEVER expected to see him out of the group and agency in half a day??? YGE usually denies everything happening to their male artists until it died down. I'm guessing there is more dirt that they don't want to see investigated - probably a mix of his drug purchases attempts + YGE discussing with corrupt police management to have the scandal hidden back in 2016. Or they're learning from Seungri that they should react as quick as possible so it doesn't climb up to management levels/threatens the heads themselves.
B.I. himself will probably be fine, laying low for a while/do his military service and comeback in a few years with a ~new image~ as a rapper/song producer.

But still, wtf

[hallyujah.livejournal.com]

Ya I bet YG tried to unduly influence and corrupt police into not pursuing the matter so they took this immediate action to try to contain the story and give the public their pound of flesh up front to hopefully prevent it from escalating too much. Meanwhile, let's hope the public isn't so easily satiated. <3

[girlknees.livejournal.com]

haven’t been into the group in ages, but man i was low key rooting for them / him for a while. granted b.i. has gotten a lot of negative press over the years but i always had a soft spot for him after their first reality with winner.
oh well, he should have made better choices so the consequences are his to deal with.

[juhli.livejournal.com]

I'm actually kinda bummed he's out of the group. The messages very much read like a dumb macho rookie trying out drugs for the first time bc he wanted to see if it helped him creatively. He seemed to have matured a lot in general from 2015/16 to now.

What i more hope is that YGE and the police will be investigated throughoutly.

[daynr.livejournal.com]

yup. their ikon show kind of made him seem like pressure bomb who needed some counseling and people skills. It made me have some sympathy for him, even with him also being a dumbass.

[suggestivepeach.livejournal.com]

I’ve never been so relieved that I don’t stan YG artists but I still feel a bit sad for him and the rest of the members. Idk if the group can go on the same way since he was so central to their sound and image. I was expecting him to do a written apology and for this to all blow over within a day or two.

[timetobegin.livejournal.com]

YG artists using illegal substances, YG sweeping it under the rug and Dispatch exposing them....... Deja vu much?

[lilmissniza.livejournal.com]

Not surprised with YGE artist and drugs. What I am surprised by is that some mentioned that the agency terminated his contract immediately after this was revealed. Like wow that was quick. Idk what's gonna happen to IKON and even the rest of the artistes under that mess of a label now but at this rate I wish they'd get a chance to escape ASAP.

[pikapika217.livejournal.com]

Well way to screw over Lee Hi as well, LIKE?!

Can she switch to 'No Way' asap tho?!

[lydzi.livejournal.com]

Bye bye.

[mntsuklaa.livejournal.com]

Hanbin is trending on twitter and it's filled with delusional stans.
But there's also a few comments saying that he's curreently missing and his phone is off. I hope he's ok.

[ashdevilrun23.livejournal.com]

I saw a picture of 2 men walking on Twitter and people were claiming it bi and his manager??? Not sure if it was really him tho

[katheli.livejournal.com]

the real story here is that YG has a very wide network of people in their pockets and there is no way IMO they're not involved with some real shady dealings. Particularly if you look at their involvement in nightclubs, drugs, etc. I don't wish anything bad on their artists, but I can't support YG groups at this point, who knows WHAT or WHO we're actually financing with that?

this kid is a dummy, so, his own fault. But I wonder if they aren't just cutting this scandal off early so people - again - forget to look deeper at all the other connections.

[dior-chic.livejournal.com]

‘who knows WHAT or WHO we're actually financing with that?’

Mfte

[horichansenpai.livejournal.com]

As dumb as he was, I feel kinda bad for him especially if he really was distressed at the time. Sucks for ikon.

I really need YGE's downfall to happen asap

[sglitzys.livejournal.com]

Laughing at stans saying this was fake when soompi tweeted about it and now he's leaving the group.

[mallmouse.livejournal.com]

Lol saw some of those too! "He cant even drink alcohol" "He s so soft and pure" gos when will they learn that even the cutest flower boys dont show them what they can really be like

[dongsaengkiller.livejournal.com]

The main issue is police corruption and that’s what people should focus on. YG is throwing him away so people so digging. Fucking bastard