TWICE's Jihyo Leaves JYP Entertainment After 21 Years, Launches EMITHAUS Agency

TWICE leader Jihyo has announced she is leaving JYP Entertainment after 21 years with the agency, revealing in a handwritten letter posted to Instagram on Wednesday that she has founded her own company, EMITHAUS.

“After 21 years, my journey with JYP Entertainment, which began when I was just a child, has come to an end,” wrote Jihyo, 29. “Trying to put 21 years into just a few words is harder than I thought it would be.” Jihyo, whose full name is Park Ji-hyo, joined JYP at just eight years old and spent a decade as a trainee before debuting with TWICE in 2015, CNA Lifestyle reported.

She framed her independence as a forward-looking choice: “To me, independence is not so much a conclusion about the time that has passed, but a choice about how I want to live going forward. As the first step in this new chapter, I have established my own company, EMITHAUS.” She explained that “emit” means “to express or release,” and that she hopes the agency will be a place to explore possibilities within herself she has yet to discover.

Jihyo moved quickly to reassure fans the decision does not end her TWICE membership: “TWICE is an irreplaceable part of my life. I will continue to stand on stage with my members and keep building more memories together for many years to come.”

With the announcement, Jihyo becomes the third TWICE member to formally part ways with JYP Entertainment, following Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung.