Kayci Age Controversy: YG NEXT MONSTER Trainee Profile Draws Scrutiny

Kayci’s age has become the main point of discussion around YG Entertainment’s NEXT MONSTER rollout after she was introduced as the third member of the upcoming girl group project. The Kayci Controversy centers on reports that her official profile lists her as 13 years old, born on July 7, 2012, with one year and six months of training at YG.¹

YG released a new announcement video at midnight KST on April 30, 2026, introducing Kayci in connection with NEXT MONSTER and broader company plans for BLACKPINK, BABYMONSTER, TREASURE, and upcoming rookies.² YG LIFE, the company’s official channel, also hosted the announcement video, making the update part of YG’s official rookie rollout.³

Kayci Age Controversy and Profile Details

The debate began after Kayci’s profile details circulated through coverage of YG’s announcement. Soompi reported that Kayci is 13 years old and has trained at YG for one year and six months.² Koreaboo reported additional profile information, including her listed birth date of July 7, 2012, and said social media users raised concerns about both her young age and the length of time she had already spent as a trainee.¹

The same coverage noted a distinction that has shaped the discussion: Kayci is currently being presented as a trainee in the NEXT MONSTER project, rather than as a debuted idol.¹ That point has not ended the criticism, but it is a relevant part of the current status because the available source material describes her reveal as part of a trainee and rookie-introduction process.

YG’s official announcement page does not provide a text transcript of Kayci’s profile in the indexed source material, but it is the rights-holder page for the video that later reports used in coverage of the reveal.³ For that reason, the publicly reported details should be read together with the official rollout context: YG introduced Kayci through its announcement video, while entertainment outlets reported the specific profile data and the reaction that followed.

How NEXT MONSTER Was Rolled Out

The Kayci reveal follows a longer NEXT MONSTER introduction strategy that began in 2025. YG LIFE reported on May 27, 2025, that the rookie girl group project was titled “YG NEXT MONSTER,” that the four-member lineup had already been finalized, and that practice videos would be released sequentially.⁴

In that official May 2025 update, Yang Hyun Suk said, “I hope you’ll evaluate them based purely on their abilities.”⁴ The quote reflected the company’s stated emphasis on performance evaluation during the early reveal phase, though it did not address the later debate over Kayci’s age.

The first member reveal came through Evelli. Electronic Times reported on May 28, 2025, that YG released the first YG NEXT MONSTER video featuring Evelli through its official blog, describing her as a 15-year-old from Australia and saying the clip showed a monthly evaluation performance.⁵

YG then introduced Chanya as the second trainee in the four-member NEXT MONSTER project. YG LIFE reported on June 16, 2025, that Chanya was 14 years old, that her clip was filmed during a monthly evaluation, and that the remaining two members were scheduled to be unveiled later.⁶ That earlier sequence is important because it shows that Kayci’s 2026 reveal was not a standalone introduction but part of an ongoing staged rollout involving teenage trainees.

Current Status of the Discussion

The available source material supports several confirmed points: Kayci has been introduced through YG’s NEXT MONSTER rollout; reports identify her as 13 years old; and public criticism has focused on her age and training history.²¹ It also supports the narrower status detail that she is being presented as a trainee, not as a formally debuted idol.¹

What remains unavailable from the provided source material is any detailed company statement responding specifically to the age-related backlash. The official YG LIFE announcement page functions as the company’s announcement hub for the video, but the indexed material does not include a written response to criticism over Kayci’s age.³

That leaves the Kayci Controversy in a defined but still developing position: the profile details are now public through coverage of YG’s announcement, the concern centers on the age of a trainee in a high-profile idol pipeline, and the broader NEXT MONSTER rollout has already included other teenage trainees.

For now, the strongest source-backed conclusion is limited and specific. Kayci’s age controversy is tied to her reported profile as a 13-year-old NEXT MONSTER trainee with one year and six months at YG, introduced through the company’s April 30, 2026 announcement rollout, with criticism focused on whether such a young trainee should be positioned within a major idol project at this stage.

작성자 소개

Cloi Lee

Author

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