TWICE's Jihyo Leaves JYP After 21 Years and Starts Her Own Agency

TWICE's Jihyo has ended 21 years at JYP Entertainment and set up her own company, EMITHAUS. She announced it on the 21st with a handwritten letter posted to her social media accounts around noon.

The contradiction is built into the news: she is leaving the agency that trained her since childhood, but not the group. Jihyo will continue her solo music career and keep working with TWICE.

In the letter, she wrote that she had decided to close out her journey with JYP, "who I've been with since I was young for 21 years." Then she explained how she sees the move: "For me, independence is less a conclusion about the time that has passed than a choice about how I will live the time ahead."

What EMITHAUS says it is for

EMITHAUS describes itself as a company that aims to expand an artist's individuality and creative range through music and other content. The name borrows from "emit," meaning to give off or radiate. The pitch is that Jihyo will use the new base to take on fresh challenges and prove how far she can go as an artist.

She framed it as open-ended: "I want to freely unfold even the possibilities of mine that I haven't yet discovered."

She also acknowledged the risk of leaving a familiar setup. Since she is working in a new way outside her usual environment, she wrote, she will approach every future choice and activity "with greater care and a stronger sense of responsibility."

Solo first, then a wider roster

EMITHAUS will start with Jihyo's solo activities. The company then plans to scout and sign other artists and expand into music and content more broadly, which makes this more than a vanity label for one singer.

Jihyo also addressed her fellow TWICE members and the fandom, ONCE, in the letter, thanking them and promising her affection hasn't changed. The letter doesn't say how her TWICE schedule will be handled between the two companies, and no details on that have been given.