Controversy Over Excessive Body Search at 'NTEAM' Fansign Event
"Checking Electronic Devices... Apology" vs "Sexual Harassment"
At a fan signing event for HYBE's global idol group &Team, allegations have surfaced that fans' underwear was inspected. Although the organizers expressed their apologies, the controversy continues.
&Team, under HYBE Japan, held a fan signing event on the 8th to commemorate the release of their second mini-album. However, fans who attended the event posted on social media that they were subjected to underwear inspections that were close to sexual harassment, expressing their discomfort.
Usually, at celebrity fan signing events, the use of recording and filming electronic devices is prohibited, so belongings are inspected. However, this time, there are claims that the extent went too far. According to fans, the staff conducted body searches to check for electronic devices such as smartwatches, citing concerns about recording or filming.
A fan identified as A posted on social media immediately after the event, saying, "In all my life, this is the first time I've seen a bra inspection at a fan signing event," and added, "Even my mother doesn't touch my chest, but the fan manager did." Fan B said, "They pressed firmly on the upper chest, then the lower chest, and kept touching it, so I was embarrassed and said, 'That's my chest.'"
Fan C also stated, "They said they would 'touch the chest a bit,' then took me to a small space saying 'Is it the watch?' and told me to lift my clothes." She added, "I had no choice but to lift them, and someone opened the door and saw me being inspected for underwear. It was very humiliating and felt like my human rights were trampled."
Other claims included, "They didn't just skim over but touched and poked here and there, sexually harassing me," and "They touched my chest right beside me, and if they thought 'I need to take it off' or 'I need to touch more to know,' they took me to the back."
As testimonies from fans poured in, the term "underwear inspection" briefly trended on Twitter in real-time. Netizens who learned about the incident reacted with comments such as, "Do we have to give up human rights to like idols?", "Did we pay to be sexually harassed?", and "They should be sued."
"We will introduce contactless methods," explanation... "Are they going to use metal detectors now?"
On the 9th, Weverse Shop, the organizer of the fan signing event, issued an apology on their homepage, stating, "We sincerely apologize to the fans who participated in the &Team face-to-face fan signing event regarding the security body check conducted by a female security guard."
They continued, "Fan signing events are opportunities for one-on-one conversations between artists and fans, and to prevent the inconvenience caused by the leakage of recorded content, the carrying of electronic devices has been strictly restricted." They explained that many cases of hiding electronic devices on the body occurred that day.
They added, "No matter how justified it is for security reasons, we fully understand that it cannot be a reason to make fans uncomfortable. We sincerely apologize for this incident at the venue," and said, "We will prepare improvement plans such as introducing contactless methods for security searches in the future."
Nevertheless, fans' anger does not seem to subside easily. On fans' social media, complaints erupted such as, "Now that underwear inspections are controversial, are they going to introduce metal detectors?" and "Recording is not a crime, but sexual harassment is clearly a crime, so this is not a proper apology."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
