Rumors are circulating that former IZ*ONE member Honda Hitomi, who graduated from AKB48 in September of 2023, is one of the members of the new iNKODE girl group SAY MY NAME.
Earlier in May of this year, Honda Hitomi parted ways with her Japanese management, Mama&Son. Since then, the singer has been largely inactive on Instagram and elsewhere, leading to speculations that Hitomi may be preparing to return to the K-Pop industry.
Then, recently, online rumors claimed that CEO Noh Hyun Tae of iNKODE began following Honda Hitomi on Instagram some time in July. Another fan account claimed that Hitomi had been spotted in Mapo-gu, Seoul, near the vicinity of the iNKODE office.
Meanwhile, iNKODE is preparing to launch its first girl group, SAY MY NAME, in the second half of 2024. The group is produced by Kim Jaejoong, artist/Chief Strategy Officer at iNKODE who founded the agency alongside Noh Hyun Tae, formerly vice president at Cube Entertainment. On August 30 KST, SAY MY NAME introduced its first member, Dohee.
Previously, many guessed that the iNKODE idol group produced by Jaejoong would be a boy group, after the agency publicly revealed its first male trainee through a promo film for the '2023 iNKODE Global Audition'. However, with the identity of iNKODE's first idol group confirmed to be a girl group, speculations over Honda Hitomi's new start at the agency are quickly building momentum.
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