Gumi City Councilor Kim Jae-woo: "Lee Seung-hwan Concert Cancellation, Mayor's Personal Position... 'Pledge' Is Prior Censorship"

"Cancellation of Venue Booking, Violation of Ordinance"

Gumi City in Gyeongbuk Province sparked controversy after canceling the concert reservation of singer Lee Seunghwan. Kim Jae-woo, a Gumi city council member from the Democratic Party of Korea, drew a clear line by stating that the "(performance cancellation) is the personal political stance of Mayor Kim Jang-ho of Gumi."

Singer Lee Seunghwan. Yonhap News, Dream Factory Club

Kim, chairman of the Culture and Environment Committee of the Gumi City Council, said on the 24th on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' that "Gumi City canceled the reservation based on Article 9, Paragraph 1, Item 6 of the Ordinance on the Operation of the Cultural and Arts Center." He pointed out, "Item 6 states that the mayor may cancel the reservation if deemed necessary for public interest, but public interest should mean the benefit of society as a whole. However, since the cancellation of the reservation is seen as contrary to the overall social benefit, the cancellation clearly violates the ordinance."

Earlier, Gumi City decided to cancel the reservation for Lee's concert scheduled to be held on the 25th at the Grand Performance Hall of the Gumi Cultural and Arts Center. The reason was that a conservative group in Gumi opposed Lee, who performed at a rally calling for the impeachment of President Yoon Seok-yeol, and had announced protests against the concert. Mayor Kim Jang-ho stated in a press release, "This unavoidable decision was made with the utmost consideration for the safety of citizens and audience."

However, Councilman Kim pointed out that there was no atmosphere for intense backlash from the conservative groups. He said, "Regarding the concert, on the 19th and 20th, there were protests and press conferences by conservative groups with about 10 and 20 members respectively, demanding the cancellation of the reservation," adding, "There have been countless conservative group rallies in Gumi, but there has never been a safety issue. The situation was not at all serious enough to justify canceling the concert."

Regarding the emphasis on Gumi City's request for a pledge to refrain from political agitation, which Lee's side refused, Kim criticized that the pledge could be considered 'prior censorship' and said, "It suppressed freedom of expression." He added, "The parts related to political agitation are Lee Seunghwan expressing his personal views during the performance. The fact that such demands were forced before the performance itself is problematic."

Furthermore, Councilman Kim stressed that although issues such as penalties and compensation for damages may arise due to this cancellation, it is not a matter to be resolved with city funds. He said, "This is a clear violation of the ordinance, so I believe it cannot be resolved with city funds. It is regarded as a unilateral cancellation by the Gumi mayor personally," and added, "Therefore, I believe it is unacceptable to use citizens' taxes to cover penalties, and we are looking for ways to respond."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.