MYSTIC STORY have announced the disbandment of their fifth-generation boy group ARrC.

ARrC – Hyunmin, Kien, Choi Han, Andy, Rioto, Doha, and Jibeen – initially debuted under MYSTIC STORY in the summer of 2024 with the pre-release single “Dummy” and the mini album AR^C. Since then, the group released two further mini albums – nu kidz: out the box and HOPE – as well as the 2025 single-album CTRL+ALT+SKIID.

Across their two years of activities, ARrC typically saw modest album sales. Their final release, CTRL+ALT+SKIID, shattered previous figures almost two-fold, with upwards of 63,000 copies sold during its first week of release in November 2025, according to the Hanteo chart. While this indicated an upward trajectory in active ARrC fans, the group released no new music in 2026 – and, in a surprising turn of events, have now disbanded.

This announcement follows reports surrounding MYSTIC STORY, who had been a long-term subsidiary of SM Entertainment when they were acquired by the entertainment giant in August 2017; SM would become its largest shareholder. Eight years later in 2025, and only a year after ARrC’s debut, SM Entertainment revealed that it had sold all shares in MYSTIC STORY. The result was a significant change in the company's financial structure, followed by a reshuffle of staff and a new CEO, Jungsu Han, appointed in March 2026.

ARrC’s disbandment has therefore sparked discussion over the presence of conglomerates like SM Entertainment within the market – more specifically, the concentration of funding that they spend in comparison to smaller agencies. Data released by KOCCA in 2023 shows that the spending by large companies on music production – i.e. SM, YG, JYP and HYBE – averages at 43.11 billion won per annum, with smaller companies averaging 1.49 billion won, creating an enormous divide.

It is a divide that KOCCA and Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism have recently acknowledged with a new initiative, which will grant ten small agencies up to 300 million won per year to contribute towards overseas activities, from album exports to live events. In any case, ARrC’s disbandment showcases that global entertainment conglomerates hold a major influence when it comes to funding for smaller agencies, and suggests that the current model has limits.

In the statement released by MYSTIC STORY, the seven members of ARrC state they “will each embark on new journeys and pursue their own paths moving forward;” though no details of their plans nor of the companies involved have been shared as of yet. Moving forward, MYSTIC STORY will still be home to Billlie and the K-rock band LUCY.