aespa's Winter, ENHYPEN's Jungwon brush off dating rumors

K-pop superstars Winter of aespa and Jungwon of ENHYPEN are not dating, their agencies confirmed.

This came after an eagle-eyed fan posted on Dec. 11 that they allegedly witnessed the K-pop stars at a whisky bar in the Cheongdam-dong area in Gangnam District, Seoul.

In a statement, aespa’s agency, SM Entertainment, dispelled the rumor, saying that it is "groundless" and that the person who circulated the malicious photo has a hidden agenda.

"[The rumors] are groundless. The person who circulated the photo contacted a media outlet with the intention of monetary gain, attempting to communicate with us directly. However, when the outlet refused by saying that they cannot help contact [us] for reports with the purpose of monetary gain, they seemed to have maliciously circulated [the photo]," SM Entertainment said. 

"We will be taking legal action," it added. 

BELIFT LAB, ENHYPEN’s agency, has also clarified that the claims are false.

"The dating rumors are not true. BELIFT LAB will take strong action against any acts that infringe on the privacy of our artists or create or spread malicious rumors," it wrote. 

Winter, or Kim Min-jeong in real life, is a member of the South Korean girl group aespa, which debuted under SM Entertainment in November 2020. aespa is known for its hit songs Supernova, Live My Life, Armageddon, and Spicy, among others.

After two years, she became a member of the supergroup Got the Beat alongside Karina, BoA, Hyoyeon, Taeyeon, and Wendy. 

Meanwhile, Jungwon, who leads the group ENHYPEN, made his debut in 2020 with the release of their inaugural mini-album, Border: Day One.

The boy group is known for their hit songs Bite Me, Given-Taken, Drunk Dazed, and Brought The Heat Back, to name a few.