Taeyeon To Skip Out On SMTown's 30th Anniversary Show After Criticizing Agency

Taeyeon has pulled out of SM Entertainment's 30th anniversary show, "SMTOWN Live in Seoul 2025," despite being on the event poster and lineup.

The agency announced the change on December 11 via the official ticketing platform Melon Ticket.

"Girls' Generation's Taeyeon will not be appearing at SMTOWN LIVE 2025 in Seoul," stated a notice.

"We apologize for any inconvenience caused by this lineup change. Ticket cancellations and refunds due to this change can be processed without cancellation fees through our customer service center."

While SM Entertainment announced Taeyeon's departure on Wednesday, the "Lion Heart" singer told fans of her plans much earlier in a livestream, explaining that the label's negligence and lackluster promotion of her music informed her decision.

"I don't think I'll be participating in the upcoming SMTOWN concert," she said.

"Recently, I haven't had any good conversations with the company. I don't understand why my name is still on the poster. I have no idea what their plan is. Why hasn't SM informed me about Weverse Live? SM, are you watching this? Is there any SM staff here?"

Taeyeon expanded on her grievances with the company regarding the rollout of her sixth mini-album Letter to Myself in a series of messages to fans on November 20.

"Because of the poor communication with the management this time, there were mistakes in carrying out the pre-promotions," she wrote on DearU Bubble.

"They should have done better with the promotional activities before the album was released. I feel upset that time was wasted like this and I apologize to the fans. Although it's late, I'm doing my best and searching for ways to promote the activities that I can still do. I'm sorry I couldn't fulfill all the various requests fans have shared with me today. I'm really upset about it."

The concert series, set to include acts BoA, SNSD, EXO, and aespa, among others, celebrates 30 years of SM, a cornerstone of the K-pop industry.

The event is scheduled for January 11-12, 2025, at Seoul's Gocheok City Dome, with a capacity of a whopping 25,000 attendees.