Yuqi of girl group I-DLE has come under fire after expressing dissatisfaction about having to personally purchase concert tickets for her acquaintances.

On May 13th KST, YouTube channel TEO uploaded an episode titled “The day we’ve been waiting so long for has finally come | EP. 90 I-DLE Minnie, Yuqi.”

In the video, host Jang Do Yeon commented to Minnie, “I heard you spent 10 million won out of your own pocket to invite around 100 acquaintances to your concert.”

Yuqi added, “There’s a ‘Minnie Zone.’ Whenever we do concerts in Thailand, it’s filled with her family, acquaintances, schoolmates, and friends.”

She then voiced frustration, saying, “I don’t understand this—inviting people to concerts should be a good thing. But it’s our own concert, and we still have to pay for tickets out of pocket. Technically, we only get four free tickets each, and any extras we need to buy ourselves.”

Jang Do Yeon jokingly replied, “You should’ve added that to your contract renewal.” Both members then lamented having forgotten. Minnie added, “We still have three years left (on the contract). It’s too late—we already renewed,” to which Yuqi responded, “Thank you, sunbaenim. I’ll try talking to the company again.”

However, fans didn’t take the remarks lightly. The comments section quickly filled with criticism:

• “Celebrities really do live in a different world. They can’t grasp why paying to give out free tickets to friends is a problem.”
• “That comment about concert tickets is definitely going to be controversial. Do they not understand how sensitive people are about that these days?”
• “Yuqi, your fans all buy their tickets with their own money. These concerts aren’t funded by your own wallets—they’re organized by your agency and production companies.”
• “Fans are treated like cash machines while they’re upset about giving away tickets to friends.”

The video has since spread across online communities, with many netizens expressing disappointment:

• “What do they think of their fans?”
• “They’re treating fans like fools.”
• “Getting prime seating itself is already a huge privilege.”

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