Politically vocal singer's concert canceled

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Entertainment & Arts

Wed, September 27, 2023 | 23:48

K-pop

Politically vocal singer's concert canceled

Posted : 2017-04-25 21:01

Updated : 2017-04-25 21:33

Singer Jeon In-kwon, left, is seen with Ahn Cheol-soo, presidential nominee of the People's Party in Seoul, April 19. / Yonhap

By Park Jin-hai

Jeon In-kwon, former vocalist of legendary rock band Deulgukhwa, canceled a concert scheduled for next week. The band's best-known hit song "Don't Worry, My Dear" was the very song that crowds sang with candles in their hands in the anti-president protests that led to the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye.

The 62-year-old singer planned to hold the two-night concert, titled "Jeon In-kwon concert _ Say you will dream new dreams," May 6 and 7. But his agency on Tuesday abruptly announced it had decided to cancel the Sunday date, citing "poor ticket sales."

Industry insiders, however, raise the possibility that the recent remarks of the singer, who publicly revealed his support for presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo from the People's Party, may have backfired. Usually, such a media event, right before a concert, leads to greater ticket sales.

Jeon, during the press event to promote his upcoming concert last week, said "Ahn is a perfectionist like Steve Jobs. Those people may lack some communication skills, but they never are bad people. Isn't it true that having everything half complete cannot make progress?"

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Soon after he made his remarks, followers of Democratic Party of Korea candidate Moon Jae-in attacked Jeon on social media, citing his ill orientation and threatened to return their tickets. Ahn's supporters countered, praising Jeon's bravery and steadfast belief.

Moon is the leading presidential candidate and Ahn is his top challenger.

On Monday, a day prior to the cancellation announcement, Jeon reaffirmed his backing of Ahn and left a long message on social media. "I've been supportive of Ahn over the past five years," he said. "All my close friends already knew it. Only I didn't make it public. As a citizen and a sovereign person, I support Ahn."

Also, he shared an anecdote from two years ago when he met the candidate and his wife during a film festival, at which he walked into the venue and stood in the center, because Ahn had humbly yielded the center place and spotlight for him.

The concert organizers cautiously denied the allegation. "The speculation that a massive cancellation from Moon's supporters led to the concert cancellation is not true. Although some tickets were canceled, new ticket buying didn't increase enough to offset cancellations."

Those who bought the May 7 concert tickets can exchange them or get refunds. Jeon's Saturday concert will still be held at the Sejong Center for Performing Arts.

jinhai@ktimes.com