IU's fans are calling out Seoul City for misleading the public regarding the stadium's upcoming ground seating ban.
Fans of singer IU have accused the Seoul city government of misleading the public by suggesting that next year’s exclusion of ground seating sales at the World Cup Stadium is due to the aftermath of IU's concert.
On September 14, IU's online fan community, IU Gallery, issued a lengthy statement in response to the city's stance on her upcoming concert. Fans expressed their frustration, particularly over the city's attempt to shift the blame for their "grass condition problem" onto IU's concert. In their statement, they declared, "We are outraged by Seoul’s attempt to evade responsibility for the grass condition problems," and shared their official response to the controversy.
The statement continued, "While fans are relieved that IU's concert at Seoul World Cup Stadium next week will proceed as scheduled, we cannot overlook the incompetence of the Seoul city administration."
The fans further argued, "The turf condition problems at the World Cup Stadium are entirely due to the Seoul Facilities Corporation's poor management. The Seoul city government, which oversees the corporation, should take full responsibility for this issue and apologize to the public. Instead, they are misleading the public by implying that the ground seating ban next year is a result of IU's concert."
They also pointed out, "Earlier this year, two other artists held concerts at the Seoul World Cup Stadium before IU. The Seoul Facilities Corporation is expected to generate over 3.6 billion KRW in concert fees in 2024 alone. Given that, the corporation had a major responsibility to manage the turf properly."
On the same day, the Seoul city government announced that starting in 2025, ground seating sales for concerts and other cultural events at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Mapo-gu would be restricted. This decision reportedly comes in response to grass condition issues raised after the 2026 North and Central America World Cup regional qualifier between the South Korean men's national football team and Palestine on October 5.
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