GOT7’s Yugyeom Opens Up About Financial Struggles During Pandemic

“Wtf did JYPE do to their money?”- Fans react as GOT7’s Yugyeom opens up about financial struggles during pandemic

On Wednesday, April 9, GOT7’s Yugyeom sat down for an interview with Billboard for the corner, Artist Spotlight. During the same, the K-pop idol talked about several things including the experience of his world tour, his thoughts on the K-pop industry, his solo career, and more.

Since Yugyeom’s audience was students from USC, he was asked to conclude the interview by sharing a few words with the group. At one point in his message to the students, the idol talked about how he earned the major income for his family, and how he struggled a lot during the pandemic as there was no source of income.

Yugyeom stated that the boredom urged him to gather his brothers to choreograph dance routines and make music on SoundCloud. He also added this was one of the main reasons he was able to sign with AOMG after his departure from his former agency, JYP Entertainment. When this landed on the internet, many criticized JYP Entertainment for the lack of financial support for their artists.

Here are a few fan reactions regarding the same:

“Wtf did jype do to their money??”

“At that time he was only 23, being the breadwinner of his family with no schedule in sight must have been stressful for him. Now I see why he was so quick to find another company,” said a fan on X.

“Being from a big 3 company whilst not seeing any funds coming in despite having two comebacks within that year is very f*cked…..like VERY f*cked,” added another fan.

“During one of their highest selling album era? that company is a joke,” commented a netizen.

“Got7 had a sold out world tour in 2019 wtf was jype doing with THEIR MONEY,” added an X user.

More fans and netizens criticized JYP Entertainment for their alleged lack of support to their artists.

“This actually breaks my heart…they had a successful cb literally a few months before…Over everything, I am truly grateful they left their company,” commented another X user.

All you need to know about GOT7’s Yugyeom and his recent solo activities

GOT7’s Yugyeom or Kim Yu-gyeom is a South Korean singer-songwriter and dancer, who debuted under JYP Entertainment in 2014 alongside his fellow K-pop boy group members. He also stands as a member of the subunit under GOT7 called Jus2, which held one other member, the leader of the group, Jay B.

However, in January 2021, the GOT7 members decided to depart from JYP Entertainment following the expiration of contract. The next month, the idol announced that he signed an exclusive contract with AOMG, a South Korean record label created by Jay Park in 2013. In June of the same year, the idol made his solo debut with the release of his first EP, Point of View: U.

Yugyeom released another single in March 2022 called Take You Down featuring Coogie. Additionally, he also kickstarted his solo world tour around the same time. In January 2023, he released a single, Ponytail, and a single album LOLO in July. After a five-stop tour in Europe around November 2023, the idol also released his first studio album, Trust Me, in February 2024.