Sophia hiatus now puts KATSEYE back in a health-management cycle. HYBE said on Friday, Aug. 7, that Sophia Laforteza will temporarily step back from upcoming promotional activities to focus on her mental health and wellness.
The 23-year-old member said the break was not easy. “It truly breaks my heart to have to miss out on a lot,” she wrote on her Instagram Story, adding that health has to come first and that she wants to heal properly and come back stronger.
HYBE’s rest-and-care plan
HYBE said Sophia had been receiving support and had consulted with medical professionals before the decision. The company said she was advised to take dedicated time for extended rest and ongoing care to ensure a full recovery, and it said it will continue to closely monitor her progress and support her journey.
That is the practical change for KATSEYE: Sophia is out of upcoming promotions, while the group moves ahead without one of its six active members for now. The same announcement also points to the company’s broader posture, with health, safety and long-term well-being set as its highest priority.
Six months after Manon
February set the backdrop for this latest pause, when HYBE announced that Manon would be taking a hiatus from KATSEYE to focus on her health and well-being. Six months later, there still had not been an update on when she would return, leaving Sophia’s absence as the second health-related break inside the group in the same stretch.
June made that caution explicit, when Sophia told Allure that the group did not want to rush Manon’s return and that the door is always open. Her words now read as more than sympathy for a bandmate; they also map the decision KATSEYE is making again, this time for her.
Wild, then early September
April had already loaded the calendar: KATSEYE’s active members said their new EP, Wild, would arrive on Aug. 14, with Pinky Up and Animal in the rollout. Pinky Up debuted at No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100, and Animal recently entered at No. 24, so the group is still pushing commercial momentum even as one member steps aside.
Early September brings the next pressure point, when KATSEYE is scheduled to embark on a global tour. For now, the real issue is simple: Sophia says she wants back in, HYBE says she needs extended rest, and the industry will measure the gap by how long that balance can hold.
