Tae Jina and Lee Jaeyong Decline... Jeon Hangil Says, "If It Had Been a Kim Eojun Concert, They Would Have Been Eager to Come"

Tae Jina: "Taking Legal Action"... Jeon Hangil: "I Understand"
Lee Jaeyong and Jung Chanhee: "We Only Found Out After Seeing the Poster"

Broadcaster Kim Eojun and former Korean history lecturer Jeon Hangil. YouTube screenshot

Former Korean history lecturer Jeon Hangil, who is hosting the "March 1 Independence Movement Day Commemorative Freedom Concert," commented on the news that singer Tae Jinah and announcer-turned-broadcaster Lee Jaeyong, among others, will not be attending, saying, "If this had been a Kim Eojun concert, they would have been competing to say they wanted to attend."

On the 23rd, Jeon addressed media reports that singer Tae Jinah plans to file a complaint against him, saying, "I received the event information poster from the event company and introduced the lineup on my broadcast. But now, all of a sudden, they say they are going to file a complaint against me, so I am a bit taken aback."

Previously, Tae Jinah's side stated, "Singer Tae Jinah will not be appearing at the concert hosted by 'Jeon Hangil News,'" and added, "We plan to respond strongly with legal action over the fact that an event official deceitfully inquired only about his schedule and then unilaterally treated his appearance at the event as a done deal."

In response, Jeon said it appeared that Tae Jinah's agency initially understood it to be a simple concert, but after realizing it was hosted by Jeon Hangil, they reacted out of a sense of political pressure or burden. He said, "I fully understand. During the August 15 Liberation Day Freedom Concert last year as well, many entertainers declined, saying that under Lee Jaemyung's rule they felt burdened about attending a freedom conservative concert."

He went on, "If it had been a left-wing Kim Eojun concert, they probably would have been eager to say they wanted to attend, so this leaves a bitter taste. That was the case even last August 15, when President Yoon was under arrest, and this time as well, after he was sentenced to life imprisonment, the idea is that the freedom conservative camp should not lose heart but instead become even more united and fight together," adding, "We hope that all like-minded people will gather and shout, 'Long live the Free Republic of Korea.' We will do our utmost to make this a great event."

Lee Jaeyong and Jung Chanhee also cut ties..."Only found out after seeing the poster"

Broadcaster Lee Jaeyong, a former announcer who had initially agreed to host the concert, also took a hard line, saying he had originally been told it was a general concert but, after confirming that it had a political character, contacted the organizers to request that his photo be removed.

In an interview with Yonhap News on the 23rd, Lee said, "As soon as I realized the nature of the event the previous day, I immediately contacted the organizer to say I could not host it and asked them to take me off the poster," adding, "The organizer said they would take action within this morning."

Describing the circumstances when he first received the request to host, he explained, "I was told that although it was a March 1 Independence Movement Day commemorative concert organized by the conservative camp, they were only asking me to host the concert portion, so there would be no problem at all," and added, "However, there was absolutely no mention that Mr. Jeon Hangil was involved in the event."

Soprano Jung Chanhee likewise wrote on her social networking service (SNS) the previous day, "I had decided not to appear in this concert, so I had not said anything separately, but since many people have been contacting me, I am posting this. I am not appearing in this concert," and continued, "I verbally agreed to appear after being asked to perform at a March 1 Independence Movement Day concert, but I only found out when an acquaintance sent me the poster two days ago, and after contacting them, it was decided that I would not appear."