On December 23rd, it was reported that singer Lee Seung Hwan's 35th debut anniversary 'HEAVEN' Gumi concert was canceled due to a decision by Gumi City. 

Previously, Lee Seung Hwan participated in a presidential impeachment rally, which sparked opposition from some conservative right-wing groups. These groups held a protest against the concert in front of Gumi City Hall. In response, a Gumi City official stated, "It seems that we decided to cancel the concert for safety reasons due to concerns about physical conflict between the audience and conservative right-wing groups."

According to Herald POP's report, Interpark, the ticketing platform for Lee Seung Hwan's Gumi concert, revealed they had not received any official notice regarding the cancellation or refunds. The Gumi City Culture and Arts Center, the planned venue for the concert, confirmed that they were discussing the cancellation following an announcement from the mayor of Gumi.

The cancellation decision came just two days before the performance, on December 25th. While the reservation agency and rental agency were initially unaware of the situation, the performance planning company announced the cancellation and refund procedures belatedly through Interpark’s reservation page after receiving the official notice from Gumi City. Lee Seung Hwan also shared his position directly on social media. He emphasized his intention to pursue legal action against Gumi City, stating, "The legal and economic responsibility for the unilateral and unfair cancellation of the venue should not be borne by Gumi City’s taxpayers but by those who participated in this decision."

Gumi City issued a statement claiming they had sent a pledge to the CEO of Lee Seung Hwan's performance planning agency and to the singer himself. The pledge requested the submission of a safety personnel deployment plan and a promise to refrain from politically agitated or misleading remarks or actions.

Lee Seung Hwan argued that the true reason for the cancellation was his refusal to sign the pledge. He stated, "It is unreasonable to demand the submission of a pledge that does not exist in the rental regulations or usage permit. Furthermore, including a demand for the performer, who is not a party to the contract, to submit the pledge by 2:00 PM on Sunday, December 22nd, just before the rental date, is unacceptable."

He also refuted Gumi City’s reference to the official document from the Gumi Cultural Arts Center, which cited cancellation criteria for performances that do not serve the public interest, such as political agitation. Lee Seung Hwan responded, "The dictionary definition of 'agitation' is 'inciting others to take action.' Some theaters prohibit performances with political purposes in their rental contracts, but my performance was not political in nature, so there has never been an issue with rentals in the past."

While Lee Seung Hwan is pursuing legal action against Gumi City for the cancellation, concert attendees have voiced their discontent, flooding the Gumi City Hall bulletin board with comments such as, "There should be no unilateral cancellation of concerts."

Meanwhile, Gumi City announced that it would address the issue of concert refunds and related disputes through its legal representative.

SEE ALSO: Singer Lee Seung Hwan to perform at rally advocating for President Yoon’s impeachment