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Rowoon departs K-pop boy band SF9 after nearly seven years

According to his agency FNC Entertainment, Rowoon will remain as "SF9's ninth member forever".

Esther Low

| September 20, 2023

SF9 Rowoon — Rowoon plays lawyer Jang Shin-yu who’s bound by a centuries-old curse in romance series Destined with You. Photo: Press

FNC Entertainment released a statement on 18 Sep (Mon) announcing that member Rowoon would be departing SF9.

SF9 is a South Korean boy band that was initially a nine-piece band. But it now comprises eight members: Youngbin, Inseong, Jaeyoon, Dawon, Zuho, Yoo Taeyang, Hwiyoung and Chani.

The boy band is also slated to play in Singapore for the upcoming HallyuPopFest come November.

According to FNC Entertainment, Rowoon will remain as “SF9’s ninth member forever”. But he will leave to put more focus on his solo acting career moving forward, his agency shared.

Following the official announcement, he also shared a heartfelt letter to fans, in which he cautiously addressed the difficulties he encountered and apologised to fans.

In the same letter, Rowoon hinted that his departure was due to the challenges of balancing both a singing and acting career. He added that he wants to “try something new” at this stage in his career.

Sharing his thoughts on the situation, Youngbin, SF9’s leader, said that he “will continue to support Rowoon’s future”.

But “it is true that my heart is conflicted. In the conversation, we spoke about the many things that happened during the past 7 years,” Youngbin said.

Rowoon debuted with SF9 back in 2016 before kickstarting his acting career.

He is best known for television series such as Extraordinary You (2019) and Tomorrow (2022).