Actor Lee Soo-hyuk has been accused of having to sign autographs for thousands of fans for 12 hours due to unreasonable demands from the organizers during a fan meeting in China. His agency expressed that they are “regretful” about the situation.
On the 1st, Taiwan's EBC reported that “Lee Soo-hyuk was exploited at the Chinese fan meeting.” They explained, “Due to excessive ticket sales by the organizers, he was forced to sign autographs for 12 hours,” adding that “(Lee Soo-hyuk showed signs of dehydration) on site.”
Lee Soo-hyuk held a solo fan meeting titled ‘Eternal Magic Hour: Heo Ran Shin Dong’ in Hangzhou, China, on the 30th of last month. The tickets sold out in just 2 minutes, drawing significant attention.
The fan meeting was originally scheduled for 6 hours and 30 minutes, but due to excessive ticket sales by the organizers, Lee Soo-hyuk had to perform continuously for 12 hours, signing autographs for thousands of fans. Despite this, the organizers reportedly requested an additional 500 autographs on posters from Lee Soo-hyuk.
EBC stated, “When Lee Soo-hyuk left the venue, he looked extremely unwell and appeared to be staggering.”
In response to the controversy, Lee Soo-hyuk's agency, People Entertainment, released an official statement via social media on the 3rd, saying, “We believe that every moment shared between fans and artists is always special and holds significant meaning. We deeply regret the unexpected situations that occurred during the event. We will do our best to move in a better direction as a result of this incident.”
They added, “Above all, we hope that the sincerity of the artist, who did their best in the given situation, and the love from the fans will not lose its meaning, and we hope that this meeting, which took place after ten years, will remain a precious memory for everyone.”
However, they also expressed gratitude to “all the cooperating companies, staff, and organizers who worked hard for the fan meeting,” which drew backlash from fans for seemingly defending the organizers.
Fans reacted with comments such as, “The company should take better care of him,” “I hope they never work with that organizer again,” “What is there to be thankful for to the organizers?” “They made him work in extreme conditions for 12 hours without even turning on the air conditioning, and they are grateful?” and “The agency's response is inappropriate.”
[Kim So-yeon, Star Today Reporter]
