Fans are venting their frustration over Oh My Girl's recent fansign situation in light of member Arin's last-minute absence due to health reasons.

On an online forum, WM Entertainment's handling of the girl group's recent fansign event has ignited a firestorm of anger and criticism. Fans were taken aback when the company announced that attendees of the in-person fansign could switch to a video call fansign to interact with Arin, but the price for entry to the in-person event was double the cost of the video call fansign entry. This apparent attempt to offer a cheaper alternative left fans feeling shortchanged.

As the in-person event's starting time neared, WM Entertainment kept fans in the dark until three minutes before the event, when organizers informed attendees that fans needed to leave the venue if they didn't wish to participate in the in-person fansign.

What truly angered fans was a staff member's reportedly rude remark: "If you leave the venue now without participating in the in-person fansign, we will talk to the retailers and give you a refund. Is that what you all want?*" 

In the original Korean context, this last rhetorical line came across as condescending and uncalled for, as the company tried to "speak on behalf of the fans" while assuming that the fans probably would not want a refund enough to leave the in-person fansign. "I couldn't believe my ears," one fan stated.

Furthermore, the company stated that refunds would only be granted if the products that were bought as entries for the fansign—the Season's Greeting calendars and special photo cards—remained unopened for the entire six weeks leading up to the event. Fans deemed this condition unreasonable, considering the length of time, and noted that the product package was priced at 42,000 KRW (~$31 USD) each.

According to the fans, the attitude of the staff members were disrespectful, with testaments such as, "they were treating fans as if they were 'being Karens' and asking for something overly unreasonable." The attendees of the in-person fansign also reported that they were even international fans who had traveled from places like Japan to attend the in-person event for Arin, only to be left with a cheaper option in lieu of a full refund.

Netizen reactions include:

"Are they crazy?"
"Do they really think that the fans are that dumb enough to be treated like dirt?"
"This is too much"
"They should have at least made the announcement that the fans will be receiving a full refund"
"Whoa they sound like bullies"
"LOL they just think of their fans as a money pipeline"
"I hope they get sued"
"The fans should just report them"
"Oh my god"
"They are treating their fans as nothing more than an ATM"
"I can't believe that they tried to sell fansigns with mere Season's Greetings in the first place"

What are your thoughts?
  

*Literal translation equates to, "But you don't want it to that extent," with the tone being informal and rhetorical.