Fans Trash JYPE Offices and Rumors Swirl After Jaebeom Leaves 2PM

Barely 24 hours have passed since JYP Entertainments released an official press statement that addressed their contract termination and subsequent departure of Jaebeom from 2PM, the KPOP outfit he formerly led.

Led by the official 2PM fan group, Hottests, dissatisfaction has taken the form of boycotts, online outrage, rumor-mongering, and, most dramatically, the storming of the JYP Entertainment offices in Seoul. It is even reported that there are currently security guards stationed outside their offices. Although, photographs on We Heart K-Pop show images of fans destroying CDs and leaving bundles of white chrysanthemum flowers on the surrounding sidewalks in an act more akin to mourning than violence.

Perhaps the most long-term damage for the band and JYPE is in the ongoing boycott Hottest have posed on all 2PM products, and the hemorrhaging membership on 2PM's most popular message board, which reportedly plummeted from 329k members to 283k in the past day, a drop of more than 14%.

JYPE's decision to sever ties with Jaebeom was apparently made because of yet-to-be-disclosed actions Jaebeom took during the promotional campaign for 2PM's album 'Again and Again.' These actions are said to be more serious than the prior allegations that spurred him to temporarily leave the band in late 2009 after making anti-Korean statements on his MySpace page. While no further details have been made public, rumors swirl that a controversy of this caliber could point to anything from drug use or an illegitimate pregnancy to media spin after Jaebom's legitimate complains about an unfair contract with the entertainment company.