Tzuyu may leave JYP Entertainment to pursue solo career under parents' agency

Tzuyu (Zhou Ziyu), the Taiwanese member of K-pop girl group Twice, may leave her agency JYP Entertainment to pursue solo activities, Taiwan's China Times and other Taiwanese media reported Wednesday, citing sources.

The source said Tzuyu is unlikely to renew her individual exclusive contract with JYP and may instead pursue a solo career through Yuhai Entertainment, a company her parents founded in Taiwan in November last year. The agency's registered address is the same as a cafe run by Tzuyu's mother, and it has registered 22 business categories including performance planning, music production and distribution, advertising, and entertainment management, the source added.

The source also said that when Tzuyu performed as a solo act at a beer rock festival in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, earlier this month, no JYP-affiliated manager accompanied her, and she was billed under her real name, Zhou Ziyu, rather than her stage name Twice's Tzuyu.

Tzuyu met music producer Chen Zeshan — a former head of Warner Music's Greater China division — alongside her mother during a visit to Taiwan in June last year. The source said Chen assisted Tzuyu at the Kaohsiung event and may play a key role in her future solo activities.

In 2015, Tzuyu sparked controversy in China after holding a Republic of China flag on a Korean variety program, with critics accusing her of supporting Taiwan independence. She released a video apology on Jan. 15, 2016, the day before Taiwan's presidential election. Some analysts said the incident stirred anti-China sentiment among Taiwanese voters and contributed in part to the presidential victory of then-Democratic Progressive Party candidate Tsai Ing-wen.