On May 9 KST, there were many articles revealing that MONSTA X's Shownu, Kihyun, and Hyungwon renewed their contracts with Starship Entertainment, but the other members are still under discussion.

On this day, the agency announced that MONSTA X members Shownu, Kihyun, and Hyungwon have already renewed their contracts, while Minhyuk, Jooheon, and I.M are still "discussing in-depth so that [their decision] can be the best direction for both the group and its members."

As soon as the news was released, many fans and netizens gathered in an online community to express their opinions on the matter and commented that it seems the company is pressuring the other members to renew by releasing news like this.

Netizens commented, "They didn't even finish any discussion yet but seems like the company is trying to pressure them with this," "I mean, I will respect the decision they make but sounds like the company is trying to pressure the members to renew the contract," "I think the article is just letting people know so the fans can prepare themselves no matter what happens," "I wonder if this article was released in request by the company or just the reporter released it," "There's still tours left so, the schedule left would be possible even if the other members don't renew?" "I wish MONSTA X stays together," "There are still groups that promote together even if the members belong to other companies," and "I would just support the members no matter what their decision is."