As fans declare a boycott ahead of SHINee’s 15th-anniversary fan meeting, SM Entertainment has released a statement.
On May 1st, SHINee’s agency, SM Entertainment, posted a notice, saying, “This is an official response regarding the many voices of concern about the 2023 SHINee FANMEETING ‘Everyday is SHINee DAY’: [Piece of SHINE].”
The agency continued, “First of all, we apologize for causing concern to fans ahead of the meaningful meeting of SHINee’s 15th debut anniversary.”
Then, then explained the choice in venue, “As this year’s 15th anniversary of SHINee’s debut is a place where the SHINee members meet with fans face-to-face after a long time, considering the members’ schedules and the schedule for fans to participate, we confirmed a venue that can accommodate at least 5,000 people on the weekend. Although there was a place where the venue was already confirmed, the venue was rejected due to the sudden internal circumstances of the venue, and the only place available in terms of schedule was Ilsan KINTEX. We inevitably decided on the fan meeting venue as KINTEX, and we ask for your understanding of the situation.”
In response to fans’ concerns, SM said, “The parts you are worried about are also what we were most concerned about when we first decided on the venue. We had real-time discussions with the production team to prioritize that all seated fans would not be left out in creating memories with SHINee, but it seems that we caused concern by not being able to guide the production composition on the detail page.”
The agency also revealed that they are preparing to use moving carts, install screens, resolve limited visibility through tier utilization, and Beyond Live (online live broadcast). They added, “We are making efforts to create a performance without as much inconvenience as possible so that it can be remembered as a good memory for both SHINee and the fans, but we think there will be some shortcomings due to realistic difficulties. We are doing our best to make it a good performance, so we ask for the fans’ generous understanding.”
On May 27th, SHINee will hold the 2023 SHINee Fan Meeting “Everyday is SHINee DAY’: [Piece of SHINE]” at Ilsan KINTEX Exhibition Hall 2.
The most significant issue raised by fans was the venue. According to them, Ilsan KINTEX Exhibition Hall 2 is an exhibition hall, not a concert hall, so it is not suitable for stage viewing, and difficulties in communication between artists and fans may arise.
Fans’ anger and disappointment were significant, given that their expectations were high for the 15th-anniversary fan meeting, which is not an ordinary performance.
In response, SHINee’s fandom “SHINee World” (also known as “Shawol”) released a statement and declared a boycott. They also demanded a change of the fan meeting venue, a direct apology and feedback from the agency, and held truck protests around SM’s office in Seongsu-dong, Seoul.
Although SM Entertainment posted a notice asking for understanding, the situation has not improved. Fans are reiterating demands, including immediate suspension of pre-sales, venue changes, and substantial improvement measures.
The fan club ticket pre-sale for SHINee’s fan meeting opens on May 1st at 8 PM (KST). As it is a place where SHINee members meet fans after about 4 years and 8 months of hiatus, careful judgment and conflict resolution, as well as consideration of each party’s positions, are needed.
Source: Nate
