Sulli Quits f(x) To Focus On Acting

Singer-actress Sulli will leave the girl group f(x) to focus on acting, said a representative from her agency SM Entertainment.

"We will actively support the activities of not just f(x) but also Sulli."

Rumors have been circulating since June that the actress would leave the group and that the group might be disbanded, but SM has announced that the group will continue without her.

A statement released by the agency and published in The Korea Observer clarified the agency's plans.

"With her leave, f(x) will continue as a four-member group. f(x) will continue on with its activities with four members consisting of Victoria, Luna, Amber, and Krystal. We will not only fully support f(x)'s future group activities, but also the members' individual activities and Sulli's activities as well."

Sulli has not been active with the group since July 2014 when she was upset by malicious rumors circulating on the Internet. The rumors concerned her then rumored relationships with Dynamic Duo's Choiza. In August 2014, both stars' agencies confirmed that the two were indeed dating. Netizens disapproved of the relationship and that disapproval prompted some less than flattering online comments.

Those comments so upset Sulli that on July 25, 2014, SM confirmed she would take a break from performing. The announcement was made in the middle of promotions for the f(x) release, "Red Light" and did not specify the length of her absence.

In June of 2015, an unnamed source was quoted in the Korean media outlet Korea Herald saying that Sulli would leave f(x).

The agency confirmed the rumor on August 7. Sulli will focus on her acting career instead of singing.

Although Sulli grew up dreaming of being a singer, she actually debuted as an actress first. She took her first role at the age of seven, when she played the young Princess Seon Hwa of Silla in the SBS drama "Ballad of Seodong." She has appeared in several dramas appearing as Goo Jae Hee in the 2012 series, "To the Beautiful You." In August 2014, she could be seen in the Joseon-era film "The Pirates" with Son Ye Jin and Kim Nam Gil. In November 2014 she played shy girl Kwak Eun Jin in webtoon-based film "Fashion King" with co-stars Joo Won and Kim Sung Oh.

Sulli debuted with f(x) in 2009.