WAKEONE has confirmed that ZEROBASEONE will move forward as a five-member group following the conclusion of their project contract, marking a significant structural shift for one of K-pop’s most commercially visible fourth-generation acts.

In an official notice titled “Notice Regarding ZEROBASEONE’s Future Activities,” the company stated that members Sung Han Bin, Kim Ji Woong, Seok Matthew, Kim Tae Rae and Park Gun Wook have agreed to continue activities together under the ZEROBASEONE name. The decision was described as the result of “sincere and in-depth discussions” between the artists, their respective agencies and WAKEONE, with all parties reaching a mutual agreement.

Meanwhile, Zhang Hao, Ricky, Kim Gyu Vin and Han Yu Jin will conclude their activities with the group following the end of the project period and move forward separately.

The announcement arrives two months after WAKEONE revealed that ZEROBASEONE’s activities – originally scheduled to conclude in January 2026 – would be extended by an additional two months. That extension now reads less like a delay and more like a transition window, bridging the group’s fixed-term structure into a reconfigured continuation.

Importantly, WAKEONE confirmed that the previously announced ‘2026 ZEROBASEONE WORLD TOUR [HERE & NOW] ENCORE’ concerts will still feature all nine members performing together. These shows are therefore positioned as the final full-lineup stage before the group formally transitions into its five-member configuration.

In framing the move as a “new chapter” rather than a disbandment, the company emphasised continuity. Yet the scale of the change is difficult to understate. ZEROBASEONE was formed under a project model with a defined lifespan. Continuing under the same name with nearly half the original lineup departing moves beyond a standard extension into structural recalibration.

This development also does not sit in isolation. In 2024, Kep1er became the first recent Mnet-era project group to secure a formal extension beyond its original term, continuing as seven members after two departures and releasing Kep1going On in their renewed phase. That decision challenged the long-standing scarcity model – debut, accelerate, peak, conclude – that has historically defined survival-show groups.

At the same time, ALPHA DRIVE ONE – formed through BOYS II PLANET – are already rumoured to be operating under a five- to six-year contract model. If confirmed, that would signal a further departure from the short-term experiment framework altogether.

Survival-show groups rarely debut as gradual rookies. They launch with million-seller expectations, global touring infrastructure and fully mobilised fandoms. Under those conditions, enforcing a strict expiration date increasingly resembles brand contraction rather than strategic discipline.

There is also a consumer dynamic at play. Modern fandom is not passive consumption; it is sustained financial and emotional investment. Fans purchase multiple album versions, travel internationally for tours, build collection ecosystems and embed themselves in organised communities. Asking for that level of commitment while simultaneously advertising a fixed endpoint introduces instability. For some, that instability drives urgency. For others, it creates hesitation.

Certainty alters behaviour. A longer runway allows audiences to project forward – future tours, evolving discographies, multi-year narratives. That continuity can strengthen attachment rather than dilute it. The open question is whether permanence redistributes intensity across time, or gradually softens it.

It would be inaccurate to call ZEROBASEONE’s continuation unprecedented. Kep1er already demonstrated that a survival group can contract and continue. The distinction lies in proportion. Kep1er retained seven of nine members. ZEROBASEONE will retain five of nine. At that ratio, the shift moves from partial renewal into identity recalibration.

How much of a lineup can change before the brand itself requires reinterpretation? At what point does continuity of name outweigh continuity of chemistry?

Given ZEROBASEONE’s scale – rapid million-seller velocity and dense global mobilisation – the visibility of this transition will be amplified. Kep1er tested contraction within relative stability. ZEROBASEONE now tests identity elasticity at a higher commercial tier.

For now, WAKEONE has stated that additional details regarding future activities will be shared once finalised. What is clear is that ZEROBASEONE is not ending. It is entering a structurally different phase – one that may further redefine what “temporary” means within the survival-show system.