The 27-year-old singer is reportedly dating a CEO of an electronics company, causing her to be absent from AOA's schedules because she wants to hide her relationship from the public.
- May 17, 2017
AceShowbiz - It looks like Choa does have a special reason behind her sudden 2-month hiatus from AOA. She is believed to be dating Lee Suk Jin, the CEO of an electronics company called Najin Industry, causing her to be absent from several schedules in order to kept her relationship a secret. Her hiatus sparked speculations that she might be leaving the group soon.
The "Excuse Me" hitmaker and the young CEO are said to have been dating since last year. Lee, who is in his early 30s, inherited his company back in 2011. Reports suggested that they were introduced to each other by Super Junior's Kim Heechul during a private event.
Prior to the dating reports, Choa took to Instagram on Tuesday, May 16 to explain the reason behind her hiatus. In the lengthy post, she claimed that she had planned to take a break since December. "The break I took was something I had planned and discussed with the head of our company prior to filming the music video for 'Excuse Me' in December 2016," she wrote, before adding, "I wanted to let all of you know because I knew you would be waiting for me, but I was advised against putting out an official statement for a personal break."
The "Fire" songstress also told fans to "delete baseless speculations," shutting down withdrawal and pregnancy rumors. At the end of her statement, she apologized for making fans worried and thanked them for the support. "I want to sincerely apologize to all those who waited and showed their support for me. Thank you to those who kept supporting me."
FNC Entertainment later denied the dating rumors, saying that the two are just friends. "Hello, this is FNC Entertainment. This is our official statement regarding Choa's dating rumors. After contacting her, we learned that the man mentioned in the article is only a friend of hers. They are not dating. Thank you," the agency said in a statement.
The contrast between Choa's official statement and the dating rumors made fans confused, but they chose to believe in her since there wasn't any proof that she had been dating. "I can't believe dating rumors without pictures," a fan commented in an article on Naver. "Who knows what really happens but if Choa was actually resting then this scandal must be very upsetting for her," another added.