K-pop stars BTS, recently sent fans and the music industry into a tizzy after announcing they were taking a break to focus on solo projects, a day after their 9th anniversary. 

Now, Lee Ja-yeon, president of the Korean Singers association has released a statement, reacting to the group's decision “I’m overcome by my fear and concern that the ‘BTS Hallyu Wave’, a movement possessing the greatest cultural soft power that the world has ever witnessed, will vanish soon. In the years leading up to the birth of this movement, it was believed that finding the ‘Next Beatles’ would be a very difficult achievement, and now, we have arrived at a point where it is difficult to hope for the ‘Next BTS’ to emerge any time soon. Thus, there is great concern that the heartbeat of Hallyu will cease. “The decision to publish this statement was not an easy one. Please, will you reconsider the decision to go on a group hiatus, for the future of South Korea’s music industry?"