Four Members Out, Five Stay: ZEROBASEONE Officially Restructures After Project Period Ends
Four years after Boys Planet introduced them to the world, ZEROBASEONE will not disband - but it won't remain the same group either.
WakeOne Entertainment confirmed Thursday that the nine-member project group is splitting along agency lines. Sung Han-bin, Kim Ji-woong, Seok Matthew, Kim Tae-rae, and Park Gun-wook will continue promoting under the ZEROBASEONE name, while Zhang Hao, Ricky, Kim Gyu-vin, and Han Yu-jin - all signed with YH Entertainment - will move on once the group's project period wraps up in March.
"Based on strong trust, the five members have decided to embark on a new season together as ZEROBASEONE," WakeOne said in a statement. The agency added that the decision came after thorough discussions with all members and their respective labels.
Of the five staying, Kim Tae-rae was already under WakeOne. Seok Matthew and Park Gun-wook signed with the agency just days ago, on February 9. Sung Han-bin and Kim Ji-woong will stay with THE L1VE and Nest Management respectively, but will continue group activities under WakeOne's coordination.
The four departing members will still take the stage as part of ZEROBASEONE one last time. All nine are set to perform at the "2026 ZEROBASEONE WORLD TOUR [HERE & NOW] ENCORE" concerts at Seoul's KSPO Dome on March 13-15 - the group's formal send-off before the lineup change takes effect.
What They Built in 2.5 Years
The group debuted on July 10, 2023, with the EP Youth in the Shade - and immediately rewrote the record books. The album sold over one million copies on its first day, the first debut record in K-pop history to do so, and eventually crossed two million total sales. Every subsequent release followed suit: all six of ZEROBASEONE's albums became million sellers.
They were originally contracted for two and a half years, with activities set to end in January 2026. In December 2025, all nine members agreed to a two-month extension, resulting in the special album Re-Flow (released February 2) and the upcoming encore concerts.
During their run, the group swept 10 Rookie of the Year awards from South Korea's major year-end ceremonies - the Golden Disc Awards, MAMA Awards, Melon Music Awards, and Seoul Music Awards among them - a clean sweep the industry calls a "Rookie Grand Slam."
Fans have reacted with mixed emotions to Thursday's news. Many were relieved the group name survives at all; others are struggling with the departure of Zhang Hao, who ranked first overall on Boys Planet and held the center position. WakeOne said it would provide "full support" to stabilize the five-member lineup and promised to keep communicating with all members going forward.
What the next chapter of ZEROBASEONE sounds like remains to be seen. But the March concerts will close one era - and open another.
