UNIS Announces End of Group Activities as F&F Entertainment Contract Expires
K-pop girl group UNIS is set to conclude its activities as a full unit on September 26, 2026, when its exclusive contract with F&F Entertainment officially expires.
The news, confirmed directly by the agency, closes out a two-and-a-half-year run for one of the industry’s most internationally distinctive fifth-generation groups — and it arrives just days after the members announced a brand-new single, making the timing especially jarring for fans.
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What F&F Entertainment Said
On September 22, F&F Entertainment posted an official statement on its account addressed to EverAfter, UNIS’s fandom.
The company said that after “continuous discussions” between the agency and all eight members regarding the contract period and the direction of future activities, both sides ultimately agreed to conclude UNIS’s official group activities in line with the originally scheduled contract term, rather than pursue a renewal or extension.
The statement thanked fans for their support “from the group’s time on SBS’s ‘Universe Ticket’ through their debut in March 2024 and throughout their activities to this day,” and expressed gratitude to the members for the stages and memories built under the UNIS name.
F&F added that while the group’s joint activities are ending, the company intends to continue supporting each member individually as they pursue their own paths going forward.
Crucially, nothing in the statement points to conflict, controversy, or a forced exit. The framing throughout is procedural and amicable: the contract is simply running its course, and rather than negotiate an extension, the agency and members chose to let it lapse as originally written.
How Long UNIS Has Been Together
UNIS’s story began well before their 2024 debut. The group was formed through SBS’s reality survival competition “Universe Ticket,” which aired from November 2023 to January 2024 and set out to create an eight-member, multinational girl group.
The show drew a massive global audience, with the final lineup selected by roughly 14 million viewer votes from around the world.
The eight winners — Hyeonju, Nana, Gehlee, Kotoko, Yunha, Elisia, Yoona, and Seowon — signed on under a contract explicitly set at two years and six months from their debut date.
That debut came on March 27, 2024, with the mini album “We UNIS,” led by the Afrobeat-tinged title track “Superwoman.” At their debut press conference, leader Hyeonju told reporters the group’s name is short for “U&I Story,” a nod to the shared journey between the members and the fans who helped select them.
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Doing the math, that original two-and-a-half-year contract window lands almost exactly on September 26, 2026 — meaning UNIS isn’t disbanding early or unexpectedly breaking apart mid-contract.
They are, by F&F’s own account, simply reaching the natural end of the term they agreed to from day one, with no extension negotiated.
A Genuinely International Lineup
Part of what made UNIS stand out from its 2024 debut was its roster. The group is made up of four Korean members (Hyeonju, Yunha, Yoona, and Seowon), two Japanese members (Nana and Kotoko), and two Filipino members (Elisia and Gehlee).
Leader Hyeonju is herself of Korean-Filipina descent, and she previously had industry experience prior to “Universe Ticket,” having debuted in 2017 with the group Good Day and later re-debuting with Cignature in 2020 under the stage name Belle.
Elisia and Gehlee’s presence made UNIS a milestone act for Filipino K-pop fans — among the first Filipina idols to debut through a Korean survival show directly into a permanent, actively promoting group, rather than a temporary competition unit.
The group leaned into that connection throughout their run, holding a fan concert in Manila in October 2024 (during which they donated a portion of proceeds to victims of Severe Tropical Storm Kristine) and returning to the Philippines for further fan events in 2025.
At their debut press conference, both Filipino members spoke about the adjustment of working across languages. Elisia said she was “surprised” to be selected for the final lineup and grateful for the opportunity, while Gehlee noted she was still working on her Korean but had improved significantly thanks to support from her bandmates, particularly the Korean members.
What UNIS Accomplished Between Debut and Disbandment
Over their roughly two and a half years together, UNIS built out a steady release schedule and toured internationally:
- March 2024: Debut EP “We UNIS,” led by “Superwoman”
- August 2024: Single album “Curious,” which sold nearly 69,000 copies and peaked at No. 5 on South Korea’s Circle Album Chart
- October 2024: First Philippine fan concert, “UNIS in CURIOUSland,” in Quezon City
- 2025: Comeback with the single “Swicy,” alongside continued fan events in the Philippines
- September 2025: First Japanese digital single, “Moshi Moshi,” released in both Japanese and English versions
- December 2025: Second Japanese digital single, “Mwah…”
- January–February 2026: “2026 UNIS 1st Tour: Ever Last,” kicking off in Philadelphia on January 30 and continuing across 14 more cities
- March 2026: Tokyo fan meeting, “Moshi Moshi This is UNIS in Tokyo”
- July 2026: First Japanese mini album
- September 2026: Final digital single, “Milky Way”
That trajectory — a debut EP, a charting single album, cross-border comebacks in both Korean and Japanese, an international tour, and dedicated fan events in multiple countries — reflects a group that was still actively expanding its footprint right up until the announcement, rather than one that had quietly been winding down.
The “Milky Way” Timing
The detail that’s driven the most conversation among fans is the sequencing. On September 21, UNIS’s official account revealed that the group would return with a new digital single, “Milky Way,” with a release set for September 23 at 6 p.m. KST. The concept photos and countdown gave no indication that anything beyond a normal comeback was coming.
Then, just one day later on September 22, F&F Entertainment’s disbandment statement arrived — meaning “Milky Way” will drop only three days before UNIS’s group activities formally end on September 26.
Rather than closing out with a farewell tour, a compilation album, or an extended send-off period, UNIS’s last act together as a full group is effectively a brand-new single released almost in the same breath as the news that they’re disbanding.
For fans, that’s created a bittersweet moment: a song meant to be celebrated as a comeback is now being received, in real time, as a farewell release. Some fan commentary online has focused on the emotional whiplash of that overlap, while others have pointed out that at least the group gets to go out with new music rather than ending on a rerun or repackage.
Why This Is Happening
Based on F&F Entertainment’s own statement, the reasoning is straightforward: this is a contract-expiration situation rather than a member walkout, internal dispute, or company collapse.
The agency explicitly framed the decision as the result of ongoing conversations with all eight members about the contract period and their future direction, concluding that they’d proceed with the originally scheduled end date instead of renewing.
It’s also worth noting the broader context. Some fan and industry chatter in the past day has referenced F&F Entertainment’s financial performance, given that the company runs UNIS alongside other artists under its umbrella.
However, nothing in F&F’s official statement ties the decision to finances, and no outlet has confirmed a direct financial motive — so that should be treated as speculation rather than a confirmed reason.
The stated cause, and the only one the agency has put on record, is the mutual decision not to extend beyond the contract’s original term.
Notably, F&F also didn’t announce disbandment in the sense of the members’ careers ending.
The statement specifically says the company will continue supporting the members “as they stand at new starting points” and pursue their own paths — language that leaves the door open for solo activities, unit promotions, or individual contract renewals down the line, even if UNIS as a complete eight-member act stops promoting together.
What Happens Next
As of this writing, F&F Entertainment has not detailed individual members’ future plans, whether any members might re-sign with the company solo, or whether any farewell activities beyond “Milky Way” are planned before September 26.
Given how recently the announcement landed, more specifics — about solo contracts, potential unit activities, or a formal goodbye event — may follow in the coming days.
For now, what’s confirmed is this: UNIS, the group born from “Universe Ticket” and 14 million fan votes, debuted March 27, 2024, built a genuinely multinational fanbase across Korea, Japan, and the Philippines, and will close out its run as a full group on September 26, 2026 — three days after releasing what stands as its final song together, “Milky Way.”