Following the last-minute cancellation of K-pop singer Kim Jae-hwan’s first fan meeting in Malaysia, which was supposed to have been held last Saturday at Stadium Malawati, refunds will be issued to the fans who had purchased their tickets for the event.
What was supposed to be a fun Saturday evening for the 23-year-old singer and his fans, WIN:D, took a bad turn when it was revealed that the permit application for the event was not approved.
While this fact alone would’ve been enough to evoke fans’ wrath, their anger was further fueled by the fact that the cancellation was only announced about half an hour after the event was scheduled to begin.
Questions had started flooding the organisers’ social media earlier when by 6pm, not only did the event still not start, fans were also still left standing outside the stadium – tickets in hand and wondering about the delay.
According to fans who had been waiting there for hours, the singer came and rehearsed at the stadium earlier, so there was no indication just then that there was any issue with the event.
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| ans were reluctant to leave the stadium, even after the cancellation was announced. |
The announcement was first made at the venue itself by a representative, who unfortunately did not use any microphone or megaphone. The moment the word ‘cancelled’ was uttered, the uproar caused by the dissatisfied fans drowned out the rest of the announcement, which was never repeated by the rep, leaving everyone to wonder what the reason was for the cancellation.
It would take roughly another half an hour before the same announcement was repeated, this time on social media.
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| The announcement of the last-minute cancellation of Kim Jae-hwan’s first fan meeting in Malaysia, take note of the refund process at the bottom. |
Outraged, fans bombarded the organisers on social media with questions, asking them why it was announced so late (in the cancellation announcement, the organisers only revealed that the delay in announcing was caused by them doing all they could to still try and procure the permit) and if refunds would be made.
The more sleuth-skilled fans even tried to find further info on the cancellation, going as far as interrogating the security guards and even calling up MBSA (Majlis Bandaraya Shah Alam) to confirm the permit issue.
Some even claimed that it wasn’t just the permit problem, it was because the singer himself decided to cancel the event.
Of course, all these “investigations” have to be taken with a pinch of salt. As is the norm, whenever there is a problem, there are bound to be speculations and rumours that quickly spark from it, especially when the proper authorities decline to give further clarification.
“2019 Kim Jae Hwan Fan Meeting [MIN:D] in Kuala Lumpur” would’ve marked the singer’s first solo event in Malaysia. However, this was not his first visit as he’s previously performed in the country, as the main singer of the now-disbanded boyband Wanna One.
(Photo source: Kim Jae-hwan’s Instagram)