HYBE responded to the controversy over the conditions to apply for the hug event of BTS’s Jin after his military discharge
On June end, HYBE’s label Big Hit Music announced changes in the criteria to apply for Jin’s offline event for “2024 FESTA”.
The agency apologized to fans, saying “We apologize for the lack of clarity in our previous announcement and for not setting detailed application criteria in advance”.
They stated, “We will consider the criteria thoroughly and announce the details as soon as possible“, and apologized for causing inconvenience to fans.
Earlier on the same day, Big Hit Music released a notice that Jin will attend the “2024 FESTA” event held at Jamsil Sports Complex in Seoul on June 13th, the day after he gets discharged from the military. At the wish of Jin, who wants to spend a meaningful time with ARMYs in person, a fan event has been prepared at the Jamsil Indoor Gymnasium.
However, controversy arose when the agency informed fans of the conditions to apply for the event. Accordingly, a fan must have BTS Membership and must purchase BTS’s previous albums released after “Proof” through Weverse Ship within the application period to be eligible for the application. Fans will automatically be applied for the event based on the total number of albums they order within the application period (from June 2nd to June 6th).
The only solo album Jin released before his enlistment is the single “The Astronaut”. Therefore, many fans complained that the meaning of Jin’s event was not respected, as anyone who buys other members’ solo albums of any type could also apply for the event.
Knowing that fans who already own the albums also have to purchase them again to apply for the event, many people poured criticism on HYBE as the agency considers the event only as a means to make money.
