IU’s Agency Apologizes Following Ticketing Controversy: Abolish Secret Verification System & Revise Fanclub Policies

On April 9th, IU’s agency EDAM Entertainment explained the reorganization of their ticketing measures, saying “We sincerely apologize to the fan who suffered inconvenience due to our excessive verification procedures”.

First of all, EDAM decided to abolish the secret verification system. They stated, “If any case requires verification, we will improve it under the following guidelines instead of the previous verification procedures”, adding “We will not consider ticket reservations without money transfer as fraud transactions”.

Regarding the process of identifying the receipt of the ticket, they said, “For individuals who have difficulties verifying their identity with an ID, we will take measures to allow ticket collection after verifying their identity through family relationship certificates or resident registration papers that can confirm direct relatives. For new passport holders, we will continue to let them proceed with the verification without a passport certificate”.

The agency also promised to improve the permanent expulsion system for fanclub. EDAM said, “As of this time, the expulsion system within the official fanclub will be operated under ‘penalty application’, such as restrictions on applying for fanclub new generations, instead of a ‘permanent expulsion’”, adding that they would cancel all previous permanent expulsions.

EDAM once again apologized, “We would like to apologize for causing discomfort to the fan and the artist and hurting them with our management policy”, adding “Our company, Melon Ticket, and the concert production team will do our best to compensate the fan who were affected by the ticket reservation process according to their wish.”

Last month, an IU fan successfully reserved a ticket to IU’s concert but mistakenly asked a friend to make the bank transfer on their behalf. Later, they received an e-mail from Melon Ticket about suspicion of fraud transaction. They submitted all the required documents, including ID, transaction details, official fanclub card, and the conversation with the friend to make the bank transfer, and successfully got permission to continue joining the concert. However, the fan was not allowed to enter the concert hall even after verification. They were expelled from the fanclub and did not get a refund either. As the story spread in online communities, netizens criticized IU’s company for their excessive verification procedures.