Hani has shared that she has successfully trademarked EXID‘s name, and that the members now operate the group as a company.

The K-pop veterans made an appearance on the latest episode of South Korean idol variety show Weekly Idol, during which Hani shared that she had previously managed to trademark EXID’s name.

Hani told the show’s hosts, Han Kwang-hee and SUPER JUNIOR‘s Eunhyuk, that she had acquired a trademark of the girl group’s name while preparing for their long-awaited comeback. “I got our ‘EXID’ trademark to be under our ownership, in order for us to be able to earn our revenue under [our group name],” she said.

As a result of their artistic autonomy as EXID, activities like preparing for the group’s reunion comeback were managed and carried out by the five members of EXID themselves. She then described each member’s new roles – Hyelin is now the group’s manager, in charge of coordinating meetings between all the members and their respective agencies.

Meanwhile, Solji, who is also the group’s leader, now acts as their chairperson, and Junghwa as their secretary, with Hani praising her for her organisational and note-taking ability. Elly, on the other hand, doubles as EXID’s A&R manager and chief producer, while Hani is in charge of the group’s accounts and expenditures.

EXID recently made their long-awaited return to music as a quintet late last month with single album ‘X’, led by title track ‘Fire’. It marked their first project together in over three years – the group dropped their previous EP, ‘We’, in May 2019 before announcing an indefinite hiatus. It also marked their first release since all five members departed from longtime label Banana Culture between 2019 and early 2020.

In a four-star review of the record, NME’s Gladys Yeo described ‘X’ as a “[demonstration of] their determination to keep their fire going, breathing new life into their sound for today’s K-pop soundscape while taking great care not to alienate their existing fanbase”.