Korean netizens discussed about Red Velvet's Irene's silence towards contract renewal

Red Velvet, a girl group that made their debut in 2014 with the hit single "Happiness," quickly gained immense popularity. They continued to release numerous chart-topping songs over the years. As Red Velvet approaches their 9th anniversary and looks ahead to their 10th year in the industry next year, fans eagerly await news regarding contract renewals. The uncertain future activities of the members have become a focal point of public interest.

On the 13th, Korean media reported on whether Red Velvet will renew their contracts. In particular, they expressed concern about whether team leader Irene will remain in the group. Irene could be considered the central figure of the group, and one of the most popular members, so the focus is even more on the direction of Irene's contract renewal.

In fact, in most group contracts, the contract terms of the members vary depending on the year they joined the group, the time they became members, and other such factors. Therefore, even before the group contract term ends, there may be cases where the contracts are extended after negotiations with the artists. That's why even within the same group, each member's contract terms are different.

Furthermore, in the case of SM, in order to allow the group to operate smoothly as a whole, even if some members leave SM, as long as they maintain the terms of the group activities with the company, the departing members can continue to participate in group activities.

However, looking at the current situation, only Seulgi from Red Velvet has confirmed to renew her contract with SM. As for the other members, team leader Irene, Wendy, Joy, and Yeri, there have been no updates yet. Furthermore, SM has not confirmed any plans regarding Red Velvet's album, performances, or other activities, which has left fans quite anxious.

After the related reports were revealed, it quickly stirred up a discussion among Korean netizens. Many netizens expressed, "I thought Irene would be the one who would renew her contract with SM first, especially after the controversy last time, it would be hard to continue without SM" , "I feel that even if Irene doesn't often engage in entertainment activities in the future, she will still renew her contract for Red Velvet", "I think she might want to take the acting path in the future".

Some even harshly criticize Irene for her age, saying, "It wouldn't be surprising if she suddenly retires and gets married," but there are fans who counter these comments saying, "Male idols who are older than Irene are still active, what are you talking about?", "No matter what, Irene will be blamed, whether she renews her contract or not, which is really annoying.", and "She can also go solo, please go solo."