KARA agency confirms Gu and BEAST Yong Jun-hyung a couple

KARA member Gu Hara (left) and BEAST member Yong Jun-hyung [10Asia]

Girl group KARA member Gu Hara's agency DSP Media has confirmed the female idol star is dating boy band BEAST member Yong Jun-hyung.

The confirmation came through a press release on Tuesday, a few hours after news of their relationship broke out today when local media Dispatch revealed several photographs of the two walking hand in hand.

"From about a month ago, the two developed an attraction for each other that goes beyond just friendship, and are now in the process of getting to know each other more," DSP said in the statement.

BEAST's agency Cube Entertainment had confirmed the news when it first got reported, admitting the two had gone from being friends to a couple.

Yong, 21, is the rapper of his six-member group, which has been one of the most popular boy bands in Korea since making their debut in 2009.

They kicked off their singing career in Japan earlier this year which has been met with success, their debut single in the country placing No. 2 on the prestigious Oricon weekly chart in mid-March.

Gu, 20, is a member of her also highly popular female K-pop group which debuted in 2007 and is considered one of the most successful Korean girl groups to break into the Japanese market due to their feat of becoming the first foreign female group in the Oricon's 43-year history to top the prestigious chart in the first week of releasing a single.

She also recently expanded her career into acting and appears in SBS' Wednesday and Thursday TV series "City Hunter" starring Lee Min-ho and Park Min-young.

However, she is currently in Japan to promote her girl group's fourth Japanese single "GO GO Summer!" set to hit stores tomorrow.

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Jessica Kim jesskim@