Lee Seunghwan Concert Cancellation: Right Decision vs Wrong... 1000 Posts Flood Gumi City Bulletin Board

Gumi City Cancels Venue Booking for Previous Day's Performance Due to Safety Concerns
"Why Is the Park Jeonghee Birthday Event Held Every Year?" Criticism Arises

Gumi City in Gyeongbuk is embroiled in controversy after canceling the booking of singer Lee Seung-hwan's Christmas concert. On the 24th, over 1,000 posts both supporting and opposing the 'cancellation of Lee Seung-hwan's concert booking' were uploaded on the Gumi City Hall website.

On the 23rd, Mayor Kim Jang-ho of Gumi stated, "Due to anticipated physical clashes between the audience and conservative groups, the booking for Lee Seung-hwan's concert scheduled to be held at the Gumi City Culture and Arts Center on the 25th has been canceled for safety reasons." In response to this news, Lee Seung-hwan expressed regret over the unilateral cancellation decision and said, "We plan to promptly take legal action against Gumi City."

In response to the news of the concert venue cancellation, Lee Seung-hwan expressed, "I regret the unilateral decision to cancel the concert venue," and added, "We plan to promptly take legal action against the Gumi city authorities." Photo by Asia Economy DB

Meanwhile, on the Gumi City Hall website's free bulletin board, posts requesting the cancellation of Lee Seung-hwan's concert booking began appearing from the 20th, with titles such as "Impeachment money-making Lee Seung-hwan concert" opposition and "Allowing Lee Seung-hwan's concert is no different from Gumi City officially cooperating with President Yoon's impeachment." Then, on the 23rd, when Mayor Kim held a press conference stating, "Lee Seung-hwan's side, through their legal representative, expressed opposition in writing, refusing to sign the attached pledge not to engage in political speech or actions," and added, "Due to concerns over physical clashes between the audience and right-wing conservative groups, we had no choice but to cancel the concert for safety reasons and notified the cancellation in the morning," posts began to flood in.

As this information became known, the Gumi City Hall free bulletin board was flooded with posts containing both support and opposition regarding the 'cancellation of Lee Seung-hwan's concert booking.' Most posts were protests opposing the cancellation. In particular, posts opposing the cancellation included titles such as "If the cancellation penalty is paid with Gumi City taxes, we will file a class-action lawsuit against the mayor for breach of trust," "I won't travel to Daegu, Gyeongbuk, or Gumi," "Living in Gumi is embarrassing," "Now even Maigumi won't buy anything with 'Gumi' attached," and "The level of the Gumi mayor is truly absurd." On the other hand, posts supporting the cancellation mainly had titles like "The Gumi mayor is a true patriot," "Gumi City's cancellation decision was the right thing to do," "I support the cancellation of Lee Seung-hwan's concert," "I support Gumi City's correct decision," and "We elected the right mayor of Gumi. Thank you for this decision."

As Gumi City in Gyeongbuk cancels Lee Seung-hwan's Christmas concert, sparking controversy, over 1,000 posts both supporting and opposing the 'cancellation of Lee Seung-hwan's performance venue booking' have been posted on the Gumi City Hall website. Gumi City Hall website free board

Among these, one netizen questioned, "Is Lee Seung-hwan's concert a political event?" and countered, "Why did Gumi City host an arts event at the Gumi Culture and Arts Center in 2023 to commemorate the 106th birthday of President Park Chung-hee?" In the past, to mark the 106th birthday of President Park Chung-hee, Gumi City held a "Love for the Country Concert" at the large theater of the Culture and Arts Center, featuring performances by opera singer Im San and an orchestra, along with various cultural events. Gumi City has been holding cultural events annually near the former president's birthplace outdoors to commemorate his birthday.