Jay Park deactivates Instagram account, sparking retirement rumours

Korean-American singer-rapper Jay Park has deactivated his Instagram account, sparking retirement rumours among fans.

On January 1, Park abruptly shut down his Instagram account, further fuelling rumours of his potential retirement from the entertainment industry. This comes just one day after he announced his announced his decision to step down as the CEO of South Korean labels AOMG and H1GHR MUSIC.

Prior to the now-unavailable announcement and deactivation of Park’s Instagram profile, the singer-rapper had posted cryptic tweet which seemed to allude to his potential retirement. “If i ever retire or disappear make sure to miss me,” he wrote on December 30.

On January 1, Park also released a new song called ‘To Life’, alongside an accompanying music video. At the end of the clip, the singer also left a personal message about his decision to step down as the CEO of his labels.

Park noted that 2021 had been a “really hard year” for him and that it “took a lot of thinking, a lot of organising my emotions [to] come to this conclusion”, while thanking fans for their support over the years.

“Don’t look at [me] as a CEO anymore, but as a colleague, hoobae, sunbae, hyung, dongseng,” he added. “We can keep trust[ing] each other as family just like before and this is not the end but just think [of it like] the form has changed and it’s the next step.”

Park has served as CEO of both AOMG and H1GHR MUSIC since he established them in 2013 and 2017 (with Cha Cha Malone), respectively. The former is home to popular artists such as Lee Hi, Simon Dominic and GOT7 member Yugyeom, while the roster of H1GHR MUSIC features popular rappers pH-1 and Sik-K, as well as JAY B of GOT7.