Former K-Pop Star G.NA Breaks Silence After Decade-Long Scandal and Seclusion

Canadian K-pop star Gina 'G.NA' Choi who fled the music industry a decade ago following a 'prostitution' scandal has returned to the public eye

Canadian-born K-pop singer Gina Choi, better known as G.NA, has re-emerged in the public eye nearly a decade after her career collapsed following a prostitution scandal that shocked South Korea’s entertainment industry.

The 37-year-old star rose to fame in the early 2010s with chart-topping singles like Black and White and 2Hot, frequent television appearances, and lucrative endorsement deals with global brands including LG. She was one of the most recognizable solo artists in K-pop at the time.

Best known as G.NA, she was one of South Korea's most popular female soloists in the 2010s and topped the charts with hits like 'Black and White'

Her career abruptly ended in early 2016 when she was accused of accepting around $25,000 from a Korean-American businessman in Los Angeles in exchange for sexual favors. G.NA denied the claims, insisting she had been deceived by a man she believed to be a friend, who was later revealed to be a broker in a high-end prostitution ring. Despite her denials, she was charged with prostitution and fined in South Korea.

Following the scandal, G.NA withdrew from the entertainment industry, returned to Canada, and lived quietly away from the spotlight for more than nine years. Now, she has resurfaced with a candid Instagram post to her 300,000 followers, opening up about her struggles and recovery.

“Hi again… I’ve carried this quietly for years. While working in Korea’s entertainment industry, I went through an experience that changed me deeply,” she wrote. “What hurt most wasn’t what happened... it was the silence. I disappeared not to hide, but to survive. But I’m not that scared girl anymore. I’m no longer defined by the past, but by what I choose to do now.”

The 37-year-old shared a recent photo of herself and revealing that she's 'healed' from her prostitution scandal

The singer added: “I’ve healed, I’ve grown, and I’m reclaiming my voice... not to relive old wounds, but to move forward with honesty and love.”

G.NA also expressed gratitude to her fans, saying: “To my loyal fans who never stopped believing in me… thank you from the bottom of my heart. To those who walked away, I understand. And to anyone silenced by shame... your story isn’t over.”

Alongside her message, she shared several new photos from her life in Canada, including one where she appeared somber and another where she smiled brightly while sitting on steps.

It remains unclear whether G.NA intends to restart her music career, but her return comes at a time when K-pop has never been more dominant globally. The animated film K-pop Demon Hunters recently became Netflix’s most-watched movie of all time, with its soundtrack topping charts. Boy band Stray Kids reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with their album Karma, while Apple TV+ launched Kpopped, a star-studded competition series hosted by Megan Thee Stallion and PSY.

Several major K-pop groups, including Katseye, Le Sserafim, and Fromis 9, are also slated to tour the United States before the end of the year, further fueling the genre’s global expansion.