On September 2, singer Lee Hyori made a surprise announcement via her Instagram. 

She said, "Hello everyone. I just wanted to let you know that in more or less the next 3 days, I will stop using Instagram. It isn't necessarily because of the recent issue (although that did influence this decision somewhat), but this was a platform where I wanted to communicate with fans since I don't promote very often and my fans were suffering from a lack of updates. It turns out, this platform is harder than I thought and it has its ways of worrying you here and there. I will consider a different way of communicating with my fans. I want to thank you for coming to see me even though I'm undeserving, and for your love and support all this time. Of course, thank you also to those of you for your criticism. I hope each of you will protect your place in this world despite all of the recent difficulties. I love you, thank you." 

Lee Hyori first established her Instagram account back in 2016 as a means to update her fans on her day to day life. Then, earlier this year, the singer caused controversy by going live on Instagram at a karaoke establishment with Girls' Generation's YoonA, when people were still being advised not to go out for recreational activities due to COVID19. After that, earlier this month, the singer came under fire again for her offensive joke about the Chinese name Mao. 

Meanwhile, fans can look forward to Lee Hyori's upcoming promotions as a member of the 'Hangout With Yoo' project group 'Refund Sisters'.