Boy band BEAST sets out with new agency

SEOUL, Dec. 16 (Yonhap) — South Korean boy band BEAST has resumed its music career with startup agency Around US Entertainment, the company said Friday.

Yoon Doo-joon, Yong Jun-hyung, Yang Yo-seob, Lee Gi-kwang and Son Dong-woon will be the first celebrities to be managed by the recently established agency.

“We decided to go with the name (Around Us Entertainment) to project our goal of reaching as many fans as often as possible,” Around US Entertainment said in a press release.

The company said it will provide full-fledged support to the five-member group so it can focus on its music, performances and acting comfortably.

(From L to R) BEAST members Yoon Doo-joon, Song Dong-woon, Yang Yo-seob, Lee Gi-kwang and Yong jun-hyung

The new agency struggled to select its name before its final launch in Seoul. The firm had originally voted in November for Good Luck Entertainment after the band’s hit single. At that time, the band had not finalized its decision to leave its previous agency, Cube Entertainment, and start anew.

BEAST’s contract with Cube Entertainment expired in October, yet the agency attempted to renew it to the last minute.

The new agency’s founders include an entertainment industry figure from Hong Kong and a former official of JYP Pictures, the motion pictures arm of JYP Entertainment.

Since its debut in 2009, the K-pop band has been widely popular at home and Japan with hit songs “Bad Girl,” “Shock,” “Midnight Sun” and “On Rainy Days.”

The band started out as a six-member act, but Jang Hyun-seung quit in April.