The Renewal That Kept Eight Members Together — and the Two Albums Since

Everything ATEEZ has released since 10 July 2025 sits on top of one press release. The one KQ Entertainment issued that day announced a completed contract renewal with all eight members, for seven years. Two albums have been made under that agreement so far — GOLDEN HOUR : Part.4 in February 2026 and GOLDEN HOUR : Part.5 in June 2026 — and the members themselves have described the first of them, to Korean outlets, as the first album after the renewal. This is the story of one business decision and the records that followed it.

What KQ Entertainment announced on 10 July 2025

On 10 July 2025, KQ Entertainment said it had completed contract renewals with every member of ATEEZ, for a further seven years. In Korea, an idol group’s contract with its label — the company that finances, produces and manages its releases — is the document that determines whether the group continues as a unit, so the announcement was carried as news in its own right.

• iMBC reported the renewal as complete for all eight members and seven years in length.
• The agency’s statement, as iMBC printed it, names the members in this order: Hongjoong, Seonghwa, Yunho, Yeosang, San, Mingi, Wooyoung and Jongho.
• KQ said it was pleased to continue the relationship on the trust built over the previous seven years, iMBC reported.
• Soompi reported that the renewals with all eight members followed in-depth discussion with them, and that the agency said it would not hold back on providing full support for each member to express their potential and move on to bigger and greater stages.

Soompi gives the group’s debut as October 2018, with the mini album TREASURE EP.1 : All To Zero — the release that started the seven years the agency’s statement refers to.

Where the group stood that week

The Korea Times covered the announcement the same day, reporting that it was made on Thursday 10 July 2025 and that the new terms run for seven years. The paper quoted leader Hongjoong as saying the group would be sharing good news very soon. In a Korean group, the leader is the member who speaks for the act at public moments.

The same report set out where the eight stood at that point:

• The group reached number one on the Billboard 200, the American album chart, with its second full-length album in 2023, The Korea Times reported.
• In June 2025 it entered the Billboard Hot 100, the American singles chart, at number 69 with ‘Lemon Drop’, according to the same report.
• The Korea Times also reported a North American tour taking in 12 cities, among them Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles and Mexico City, along with concerts in Japan in Saitama, Nagoya and Kobe.

The first album after: GOLDEN HOUR : Part.4

The first release made under the new agreement arrived on 6 February 2026 at 2 p.m. KST: GOLDEN HOUR : Part.4, the group’s thirteenth mini album. A mini album, or EP, is a short-format release; Sports Kyunghyang reported this one as carrying five tracks. In Korean industry usage a ‘comeback’ simply means a new release and the promotional round that goes with it, not a return from any break.

Both Kookmin Ilbo and Sports Kyunghyang identified the record as the group’s first comeback since the full-group renewal with KQ Entertainment; Sports Kyunghyang noted that all eight members renewed in July 2025. The title track is ‘Adrenaline’, which Kookmin Ilbo described as built on an EDM sound with a strong performance focus, and which Sports Kyunghyang described as an intense EDM sound and a departure from the hip-hop the group had usually worked in.

The members framed it the same way in their own words:

• Hongjoong, as Kookmin Ilbo printed it: ‘올해 발매하는 첫 앨범이자 재계약 후 처음으로 선보이는 앨범이다. 긴장도 되지만 설렘이 더 크다.’ In Sports Kyunghyang’s English report the line reads: ‘It is our first album of the year and also the first after renewing contracts with the agency, so we were nervous but prepared with excitement.’
• Seonghwa, as Kookmin Ilbo printed it: ‘7년 전 처음 활동하던 마음으로 준비했다’ — rendered by Sports Kyunghyang as ‘We prepared with the mindset we had seven years ago.’
• Mingi, as Kookmin Ilbo printed it: ‘여덟 명의 만장일치로 타이틀곡이 정해졌다’ — that the title track was chosen unanimously by all eight members. Sports Kyunghyang carried the same point as ‘a title chosen unanimously by all eight members.’

The second: GOLDEN HOUR : Part.5

Four months later came GOLDEN HOUR : Part.5, the group’s fourteenth mini album, released on 26 June 2026 through KQ Entertainment. Its title track is ‘Bad’. Korea Herald reported that the GOLDEN HOUR series is built around the group’s brightest moments, which is what the phrase in the title points to.

The writing credits are the detail that carries over from the previous record. According to Korea Herald, Hongjoong and Mingi wrote lyrics for every track on the album — the same two members whose comments framed the February release for Korean outlets.

Star News reported the mini album entering the Billboard 200 at number one on the chart dated 5 July 2026, the group’s third number one on that chart.

Key takeaways

• KQ Entertainment announced on 10 July 2025 that it had completed contract renewals with all eight ATEEZ members for seven years, iMBC and Soompi reported.
• The agency’s statement, as iMBC printed it, names the members in the order Hongjoong, Seonghwa, Yunho, Yeosang, San, Mingi, Wooyoung and Jongho, and cites the trust built over the previous seven years.
• The Korea Times reported the same day that the group had reached number one on the Billboard 200 with its second full-length album in 2023 and entered the Hot 100 at number 69 in June 2025 with ‘Lemon Drop’.
• GOLDEN HOUR : Part.4, released 6 February 2026 with title track ‘Adrenaline’, was reported by Kookmin Ilbo and Sports Kyunghyang as the first comeback after the renewal; Mingi told them the title track was chosen unanimously by all eight members.
• GOLDEN HOUR : Part.5 followed on 26 June 2026 with title track ‘Bad’; Korea Herald reported that Hongjoong and Mingi wrote lyrics for all of its tracks, and Star News reported it entering the Billboard 200 at number one on the chart dated 5 July 2026.