Day6’s Jae has left the band and JYP Entertainment, the agency confirmed in a statement yesterday (January 1).

Jae – who has also released solo music under the moniker eaJ – was the singer and lead guitarist in the group from their formation in 2015.

On Saturday, JYP released a statement confirming his departure. “Jae, who has been a member of DAY6 until now, left the team as of December 31, 2021, and his contract was terminated,” it read. “We exchanged deep conversations with Jae for a long time, and following careful discussion, we decided to respect the artist’s opinion and conclude our exclusive contract.

“Although our relationship with Jae has come to an end, JYP Entertainment will also cheer on Jae’s future activities with his new start. We promise to continue full support and efforts for DAY6’s activities, and we ask for continuous love and support from My Day [Day6’s fanbase].”

Previously, on Friday (December 31), Jae had shared a statement of his own on Twitter announcing that he would be taking “a break from Day6 activities for now”. “I am sincerely grateful for all of you who have been together with DAY6 and I,” he wrote, per Soompi.

“For the past six years, I have been really happy, and made memories that will last forever in my heart. I’ve had a lot of thoughts and put in a lot of work, but I am still lacking in too many areas for me to stay where I am now. After discussions with the agency, I am sorry to tell you that I have arrived at the decision to take a break from DAY6 activities for now.”

He continued to say that he would “cherish the memories of sweating and running together, crying and rejoicing together” and promised to “return having grown”.

In November, while partaking in an interview about his solo plans, Jae had said he was still a member of Day6 and that he “always will be”. In September, meanwhile, he spoke about being able to have “more personal conversations” with his fans when he was “more out of the K-pop realm”.

Of Day6’s remaining members, singer and guitarist Sungjin and bassist and singer Young K are currently enlisted in the military, while drummer Dowoon announced last week that he will enlist on January 17. Keyboard player and singer Wonpil is yet to enlist for his mandatory military service.