Sunny from Girls’ Generation will leave SM Entertainment after staying with the agency for 16 years.

“Sunny and [SM Entertainment’s] exclusive contract has expired,” SM Entertainment said Tuesday, thanking Sunny for the “journey she had with the agency for such a long time.”

“We hope you support Sunny’s new journey,” it added.

Sunny also released a statement on Instagram on Tuesday.

“With courage, I plan on looking at myself in a different environment, with a different perspective,” she said.

“I would like to thank SM Entertainment, who helped me immensely so the 19-year-old Lee Soon-kyu could debut as Sunny in the group Girls’ Generation,” she wrote, thanking her fans, agency and the staff she worked with over the past 16 years.

It has not been revealed whether Sunny signed an exclusive contract with another agency.

Sunny debuted in 2007 as a member of Girls’ Generation. The group is known for hit tracks “Into The New World” (2007), “Genie” (2009), “I Got A Boy” (2013), “Party” (2015) and many more.

To find out more about Sunny and Girls’ Generation, visit Celeb Confirmed! 

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]