Olympic Park Under Lockdown for Two Weeks.. Entertainment Industry on High Alert "Hoping Damage Does Not Worsen" [Star Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.

As the protest over the shortage of voting ballots for the the 3rd local elections continues to block the Ticketlink Live Arena (Handball Stadium) at Seoul Songpa-gu Olympic Park for its 12th day, the '2026 Seoul Park Music Festival' scheduled for this weekend has hastily changed some of its venues. The entertainment industry is calling for a swift normalization.

The Seoul Park Music Festival posted a 'Stage Change Notice' on its official SNS on the 16th, stating, "We have continuously reviewed the on-site situation with the safety of our audience and smooth operation of the performances as our top priority, given that the handball stadium has been blocked for an extended period," and announced, "As the existing Ticketlink Live Arena stage is no longer feasible, we have decided to hold performances at the 88th Grass Stage and Woori Financial Art Hall."

Regarding this, BIPCTangent, the organizer, issued an official statement: "We sincerely apologize for the confusion and inconvenience caused by the sudden change. However, this situation was neither something we chose nor anticipated. An unexpected situation occurred where we could no longer use the Olympic Park Handball Stadium, and we were also notified of this suddenly."

Continuing, the representative said, "We are also facing many difficulties due to this situation. However, in order to keep our promise to the audience who have been waiting for the performances, we sought a solution until the end, and after numerous consultations and deliberations, we have reached this decision. We cannot call it a perfect choice. However, we believe it is the best choice we can make to hold the performances normally under the current circumstances and provide a better performance environment for our audience. We will humbly accept any shortcomings."

Meanwhile, the Seoul Park Music Festival features bands such as Jannabi, Silica Gel, Monsta X, 10cm, Daybreak, Lee Chang-seop, and Jung Seung-hwan. In particular, a domestic concert by the popular Japanese band 'King Gnu' is also scheduled at the Olympic Park KSPO DOME, and numerous other performances by Park Seo-jin, Yoo Yun-ho, N.Flying, and others are planned in the future. If the current situation continues, performances scheduled at the Ticketlink Live Arena will need to consider venue changes, and if alternative venues cannot be found, cancellation may also be considered.

The Korea Popular Music Performance Industry Association (hereinafter "KPMPIA") called on relevant institutional investors to join forces to quickly normalize the situation, as the blockade of the Olympic Park Handball Stadium (Ticketlink Arena) due to the shortage of voting ballots for the the 3rd local elections continues for its 12th day, in order to ensure the safety of spectators and minimize damage to the performance industry.

KPMPIA President Ko Gi-ho stated, "We are concerned that the entire process of performance preparation, including equipment delivery, stage setup, and rehearsals, is being disrupted due to access restrictions around the venue and congestion on-site," and added, "We only hope that the damage to the performance industry does not grow any further."

Continuing, Ko (Chairman) said, "While the freedom of assembly and protest must be respected, performances are not events created overnight. If performances prepared by artists, agencies, and staff over a long period are disrupted by external circumstances, the damage will inevitably fall on both the audience and the performance team members." He further appealed, "We ask that relevant institutional investors responsibly carry out necessary procedures such as evidence preservation of ballot boxes, and join forces to ensure that scheduled performances can be held safely."

Hello.

I am Kim Eun-sung, representative of BIPCTangent, the organizer of the Seoul Park Music Festival.

First, we sincerely thank all audience members who trusted the Seoul Park Music Festival and purchased tickets.

Recently, we have received many inquiries and opinions regarding the venue change. We sincerely apologize for the confusion and inconvenience caused by the sudden change. However, this situation was neither something we chose nor anticipated. An unexpected situation occurred where we could no longer use the Olympic Park Handball Stadium, and we were also notified of this suddenly.

However, we chose to keep our promise to the audience rather than abandon the performances.

1. Why was the venue change decided?

Since the incident occurred, we have conducted close consultations with Olympic Park, performing artists, and each management agency.

As a result, we decided to proceed with the performances as scheduled by utilizing the Olympic Park Waterfront Stage and Woori Financial Art Hall instead of canceling the performances.

Of course, there were adjustments to the performance venues, order, and timetable for some artists. However, this was an inevitable choice not to scale down the performances, but to hold them as normally as possible under unexpected circumstances.

2. Regarding concerns about the viewing environment

The most frequent inquiries after the venue change were concerns about the viewing environment.

We are fully aware that the capacity of the Woori Financial Art Hall and the Waterfront Stage is smaller compared to the handball stadium.

Therefore, we are not conducting additional ticket sales even after the venue change.

Our current top priority is not to sell more tickets, but to provide a safer and more comfortable viewing environment for the audience members who have already purchased tickets.

3. Regarding the refund policy

For those who find it difficult to attend due to the venue change, we are processing full refunds, including booking fees, for applications submitted within the designated period.

Some audience members have inquired about the possibility of partial refunds.

However, this case involves adjustments to the performance venue and operational plan, not a cancellation of the performances, and the performances themselves will proceed as scheduled.

Furthermore, all performing artists will appear as planned.

In this situation, we ask for your understanding that applying partial refunds individually is practically difficult.

4. Regarding the timetable and performance operations

It is true that some artists' performance venues, order, and timetables have been adjusted due to the venue change.

However, all artists scheduled to perform will proceed normally, and the performances will be conducted 100% as planned. Additionally, the total performance time will be operated exactly as the original plan.

This adjustment was not made to scale down the performances or reduce the performance time, but was the result of comprehensively considering the expected audience size for each artist, performance characteristics, stage environment, operational flow, and the artists' opinions.

In particular, the 88th Grass Lawn, which many people visit, will also proceed with performances as normal. However, in the process of considering the balance of the overall festival operation and the viewing environment, some artists' performance venues, order, and timetables were adjusted.

We are also fully aware that the audience flow and on-site operations have become more difficult than usual due to this situation, and we will do our best until the last moment.

5. Regarding priority entry tickets

Priority entry tickets are not products created for profit.

For popular artist performances, there are many audience members who wait from the day before the performance or stay up all night. We would like to inform you that this system is operated to help with safer and more orderly entry.

6. Final words

We are also facing many difficulties due to this situation.

However, in order to keep our promise to the audience who have been waiting for the performances, we sought a solution until the end, and after numerous consultations and deliberations, we have reached this decision.

We cannot call it a perfect choice.

However, we believe it is the best choice we can make to hold the performances normally under the current circumstances and provide a better performance environment for our audience.

We will humbly accept any shortcomings.

Even so, we will do our best until the last moment to create a performance that will remain as a good memory for the audience members who are waiting for the Seoul Park Music Festival.

Thank you.

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*This content was translated by AI.