Bang Yedam Opens Up About His Departure From TREASURE And Current Relationship With The Members

Bang Yedam recently made his long-awaited debut as a solo artist after releasing his mini-album, Only One, on November 23.

Bang Yedam | *@bangyedam_0257/Instagram*

Only One marks Bang Yedam’s first release under his new company, GF Entertainment, which he officially joined in August.

Bang Yedam left TREASURE in November 2022, surprising fans who couldn’t wait to see the talented singer on stage again.

When Bang Yedam left TREASURE, YG Entertainment explained it was because he wanted to pursue his career as a producer, which he has with his new mini-album.

In a recent interview with MK Sports, Bang Yedam opened up more about why he mutually decided to terminate his contract with YG Entertainment, explaining that he felt burdened by the group being labeled “Bang Yedam’s group.”

Bang Yedam’s debut was highly anticipated after earning praise from viewers around the world when he competed on the reality competition show K-Pop Star 2 in 2012 and 2013.

After the public had eagerly anticipated Bang Yedam’s future activities for years, the announcement that he would be debuting in TREASURE caused some netizens to primarily focus on his participation in the group, which he admitted was “really heavy” for him.

To be honest, it was a bit of a burden for me to have TREASURE labeled as the ‘Bang Yedam group.’ TREASURE had a lot of members, and so having my name associated with the entire group sat really heavy. And I felt so much responsibility.

— Bang Yedam

Bang Yedam revealed that he feels “liberated” now that he’s a solo artist and enjoys facing the new challenges that come with being heavily involved in the creation of his music.

While it’s been “liberating” to debut as a solo artist, Bang Yedam clarified there is no bad blood between himself and his former TREASURE members, stating that they still keep in touch and support each other.

I do keep in touch with TREASURE members. Recently, I’ve been so busy with putting the album together that I couldn’t contact them as often. But they’re all super supportive of my work and they hit me up to check in on me and stuff.

— Bang Yedam