The issue of preferential treatment became a hot topic in Korean online communities following Bruno Mars' recent Seoul concerts, which a large number of celebrities attended over the weekend.

On June 17 and 18 KST, the pop star performed at Seoul's Jamsil Olympic Main Stadium as part of Hyundai Card's 'Super Concert' series. Several top Korean stars were in attendance, including Song Hye Kyo, Han Ga In, Yeon Jung Hoon, Lee Je Hoon, Son Na Eun, Lim Young Woong, Jo Se Ho, Jo Kwon, and members of BTS, BLACKPINK, Seventeen, GOT7, Red Velvet, Pentagon, NCT, EXO, SHINee, and more.

According to audience accounts, many of these celebrities were able to enjoy the concert from seats close to the stage, raising debate over whether they had been given preferential treatment by being gifted the 'good' seats. The debate was further fueled by the fact some in the general audience had to sit in seats where a wall covered the stage, making it difficult or impossible to see the performance.

Some celebrities became aware of such claims. GOT7's Youngjae documented his trip to the Bruno Mars concert over the weekend by sharing videos and photos through his Instagram Story. Later, he took to DearU Bubble to confirm that he had purchased his ticket, telling fans, "I bought my ticket. It was 162,000 won including shipping and fees."

It was also confirmed that Song Hye Kyo's ticket had been purchased and not gifted, as a photo shared online by fellow actress and close friend Ki Eun Se proved that she had actually purchased six tickets under her name.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Card has responded to the aforementioned claims, saying that they did not gift tickets and that the celebrities who attended either received invitation tickets from the artist himself or purchased tickets through their agencies. They also assured that they will be contacting concertgoers who had been given seats with severely obstructed views to issue refunds.