Lee Seung-hwan “Regrettable unilateral cancellation of Gumi concert… Legal action underway” [Full text]

Singer Lee Seung-hwan has revealed his position on the cancellation of his Gumi concert.

Earlier, Gumi Mayor Kim Jang-ho announced his position at 11:00 AM on the 23rd in the conference room of Gumi City Hall and said that he had sent an official document at 9:00 AM canceling Lee Seung-hwan‘s concert scheduled to be held at the Gumi Culture and Arts Center on the 25th.

Mayor Kim pointed out that he was not taking issue with Lee Seung-hwan’s personal political leanings, but should have considered the political misunderstanding and division among citizens caused by his remarks. He said, “On the 10th, I sent an official document emphasizing the permit conditions from the perspective that a performance at the Culture and Arts Center may not be in the public interest, and I also expressed my concerns over the phone and requested that they refrain from political agitation. Lee Seung-hwan‘s side stated through his legal representative that he clearly expressed his opposition in writing, saying, “I have no intention of stamping the attached pledge not to make any political statements.”

He said, “In response to Gumi City’s request for cooperation on citizen safety, he made remarks that could be seen as mocking and cynicism toward civic groups such as ‘Thank you, conservative right-wing groups,’ which led to a situation where the safety of citizens and audiences is even more concerning,” adding, “In a situation where there were concerns about physical conflict between the audience and conservative right-wing groups, we had no choice but to conclude to cancel the concert for safety reasons. The top priority is the safety of the citizens,” emphasizing that the cancellation of the venue rental was inevitable.


Lee Seung-hwan then revealed the contents of the pledge that he was asked to stamp on his Instagram. The pledge included statements such as, “We will deploy personnel to ensure the safety of the audience inside the concert hall,” and “The agency Sky Entertainment and singer Lee Seung-hwan will not engage in any speech or actions that incite political instigation or create political misunderstanding in accordance with the Gumi Culture and Arts Center performance permit regulations.”

Lee Seung-hwan expressed regret over the cancellation of his Gumi concert, saying, “I regret Gumi City’s unilateral decision to cancel the concert venue. I plan to take legal action against Gumi City promptly,” and “The legal and economic responsibility for this unilateral and unfair decision to cancel the venue should not be borne by Gumi City’s taxes, but by those who participated in this decision.”

He said, “Gumi City said it was a ‘decision for safety,’ but I cannot agree with it. We have asked concert attendees to keep a physical distance from those protesting the concert and to refrain from any speech or actions that could provoke the protesters. We also told the hall, ‘If you send us a map showing the locations of current assembly reports, we will notify the audience to avoid those locations and keep their distance when moving.’ We decided to increase the number of security personnel on site and notified the hall,” and argued, “Gumi City should have guaranteed appropriate assembly and demonstration through the police, etc. while at the same time protecting the audience‘s right to enjoy culture.”

Lee Seung-hwan said, “It seems that the real reason for the cancellation of the rental was ‘refusal to stamp the pledge.’ He also mentioned this several times at the Gumi Mayor’s press conference on the cancellation of the rental. On the 20th, the hall sent an official letter to the performance planning company, demanding that the planning company‘s representative and singer Lee Seung-hwan sign a pledge (see attached image) that reads ‘The planning company and singer Lee Seung-hwan will not engage in any words or actions that incite politics or cause political misunderstanding in accordance with the Gumi Cultural Arts Center Performance Permit Regulations’, and mentioned ‘that it may be canceled if not complied with’. It was an unreasonable demand to ‘write a pledge’, which does not exist at all in the rental regulations and usage permit, and to include a pledge from a performer who is not even a party to the contract, and to mention ‘cancellation of the rental’, demanding that it be submitted by a specific time on Sunday (2:00 PM, December 22, 2024), when the rental date is approaching. Here, I stated through a law firm on the 22nd that I have no intention of signing.”

He said, “The dictionary definition of ‘incitement’ is ‘instigating others to do something or take action.’. I do not ‘politically incite’. Some theaters have rental contracts that state that ‘performances with political objectives’ are not permitted to be rented, but my performance was not an event with ‘political objectives, so there has never been an issue with the rental of the theater so far. What do you mean ‘political misunderstanding’? ‘ ... I also have the confidence that ’my performance is the best‘. However, right before the performance, I was asked to ’write my name on a document promising not to engage in political misunderstandings, etc.‘ and ’if you don‘t write your name, the performance could be canceled’. This should not happen in the Republic of Korea, a democratic country that values freedom of expression above all else.“ He was furious.

He apologized to the affected fans and said, ”This incident is a matter of ‘freedom of expression’. The creator was asked by a public institution in advance to sign a document promising not to engage in political misunderstandings, etc., and when he did not follow the request, he suffered disadvantages. It is regrettable and miserable. I will point out the problem and change it so that the standard of our society can be raised again.“

In a subsequent post, Lee Seung-hwan expressed his determination, saying, ”The city for the performance cannot be decided by the singer or the agency. It can only be done if there is a local performance planning company‘s reservation and the will to host the performance. I hope you understand that I am not turning a blind eye to your wishes.”



Full text of Lee Seung-hwan’s statement

This is singer Lee Seung-hwan. I would like to state my position regarding the cancellation of the concert reservation scheduled for December 25, 2024 at the Gumi Cultural Arts Center (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Center’).

1.
I regret Gumi City‘s unilateral decision to cancel the concert reservation. I plan to promptly take legal action against Gumi City. The legal and economic responsibility for this unilateral and unfair cancellation decision should not be borne by Gumi City’s taxes, but by those who participated in this decision.

2.
Gumi City says it was a ‘decision for safety’, but I cannot agree. We ① requested that the performance attendees maintain a physical distance from the protesters and refrain from using words or actions that could provoke the protesters. In addition, ② we told the hall that “If you send us a map showing the locations of the current protests, we will notify the audience to avoid those locations or keep their distance when moving around.” ③ We decided to increase the number of security personnel on site and notified the hall of this.

Gumi City should have ensured appropriate protests and demonstrations through the police, etc. while also protecting the audience‘s right to enjoy culture.

3.
It seems that the real reason for the cancellation of the rental was “refusal to stamp the pledge”. The Gumi Mayor mentioned this several times at the press conference on the cancellation of the rental on December 23, 2024. On December 20, 2024, the hall sent an official letter to the performance planning company, requesting that the planning company’s representative and singer Lee Seung-hwan sign a pledge (see attached image) that reads “The planning company and singer Lee Seung-hwan will not engage in any speech or actions that incite politics or cause political misunderstanding in accordance with the Gumi Cultural Arts Center Performance Permit Regulations”, and mentioned that ‘It may be cancelled if not complied with.’.

The demand to ‘write a pledge’, which does not exist at all in the rental regulations and use permit, and including the pledge of a performer who is not even a party to the contract, was made unreasonably when the rental date was approaching, and it was requested by a specific time on Sunday (2:00 PM, December 22, 2024) and mentioned ‘cancellation of the rental’. Here, through a law firm, I informed the hall on December 22, 2024 that I have no intention of signing.

The dictionary definition of ‘Instigation’ is “Instigating others to do something or take action”. I do not ‘politically instigate’. Some theaters have rental contracts that state that ’performances with political objectives‘ are not permitted to be rented, but my performance was not an event with ’political objectives‘, so there has never been an issue with the rental of the hall so far.
What about ’political misunderstandings? “Are you feeling frustrated these days?””Are you feeling more comfortable these days?” Anything you say can be misunderstood, so shouldn‘t you say anything?

4.
I am proud to have branded and systematized the barren Korean performing arts industry during my 35 years as a singer. I also have the confidence that ‘My performance is the best‘.
But right before the performance, I was asked to ‘Sign my name on a document promising not to engage in political misunderstandings, etc.’ ‘If you don’t sign your name, the performance may be canceled’.
This should not happen in the Republic of Korea, a democratic country that values freedom of expression above all else.

In December 2024, a musician was forced to ‘Stomp the cross’ right before a performance, and he refused because it was unfair in itself. And then the performance was canceled.

Many fans were affected. In addition to the ticket price, there were transportation and lodging costs. Above all, the daily life that I had been looking forward to seeing the performance on Christmas Day was canceled. I apologize on behalf of you.

This incident is an issue of ‘freedom of expression’. A public institution requested the creator to sign a document promising ‘not to engage in political misunderstandings, etc.’ in advance, and when he did not follow the request, he suffered disadvantages. It is unfortunate and miserable. I will point out the problem and change it so that we can raise the level of our society again.

Jeong Hee-yeon, Donga.com reporter shine2562@donga.com