Rapper 'Rich Iggy' Who Mocked Former President Roh Moo-hyun Cancels Concert

Venue and Event Organizer Apologize Following Legal Action by the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation

Rapper Rich Iggy (age 19, real name Minseo Lee), who wrote lyrics that appeared to mock the late former President Roh Moo-hyun's death, had planned his first solo concert to coincide with the anniversary of Roh's passing, but ultimately canceled it. This followed a request for a provisional injunction to ban the performance by the Roh Moo Hyun Foundation, after which the concert venue notified the organizer of the cancellation through mutual agreement.

Excerpt from rapper Rich Egi's lyrics 'Junseok Lee'. Instagram capture

On the 19th, the Roh Moo Hyun Foundation issued a statement saying, "The hate concert scheduled for May 23, which marks the 17th anniversary of President Roh Moo-hyun's passing, has been canceled due to the foundation's response."

The foundation explained, "We confirmed that this concert was a clearly offensive event, as evidenced by the intentional use of a ticket price (52,300 won) that evokes the date of the former president's passing. On May 18, we sent an official letter to the organizer demanding the immediate cancellation of the concert, a written explanation, and a formal apology." The foundation added, "The organizer responded that, following our letter, the performer has stated he will no longer engage in acts that insult the deceased and that a formal apology will be publicly posted on the performer's own social media account."

Rich Iggy, who debuted in 2024, has previously sparked controversy for lyrics that mocked the late former President Roh Moo-hyun's death or referenced child sexual offenses. The now-canceled concert was set to take place at Yeonnam Space, Seongmisan-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul, at 5:23 p.m. on May 23, coinciding with the 17th anniversary of Roh's death. The ticket price was also set at 52,300 won, with both the date and price serving as references to the anniversary, further fueling controversy.

As the foundation indicated possible legal action, both the venue and the event planning company issued statements, canceling the concert and apologizing to the late former president's bereaved family and the foundation representatives.

On the 19th, a statement posted on social media by Yeonnam Space (left) and the performance planning company Teen Studio (right).

In this context, Yeonnam Space announced in an official statement that Rich Iggy's concert had been canceled in consultation with the event planning company, and explained, "At the time of the rental agreement, we were only informed that it would be a group concert by hip-hop musicians, which is why the contract was processed."

They further stated, "Yeonnam Space does not support content that contains or promotes hate, disparagement of specific individuals or groups, or content that could incite social conflict." They pledged to strengthen their internal procedures to more thoroughly review the nature and content of future events. The venue also apologized to the audience, musicians, and the bereaved family of the late former president, as well as the foundation.

The event planning company Teen Studio also stated, "The concert was canceled in agreement with the artist," and apologized to the audience, the bereaved family of the late former president, and the foundation.

The Roh Moo Hyun Foundation pointed out, "Performer 'Rich Iggy' has repeatedly used the real name of President Roh Moo-hyun and directly referenced the circumstances of his death in various music tracks." The foundation noted, "Our investigation found that these tracks are currently available to the public on major music platforms." They went on to say, "Many of this performer's tracks contain repeated, extremely serious, anti-humanitarian expressions such as misogyny and sexual objectification, depictions of sexual offenses against children, and regional hate, which cannot be tolerated by society. We will continue to respond firmly to any attempt to hide behind freedom of expression to undermine community values and insult historical pain."

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