SM Entertainment Under Fire for Basically “Scamming” Fans at aespa Concert

On June 29 (KST), aespa held the 1st performance of the 2024 aespa LIVE TOUR – SYNK PARALLEL in Seoul, Korea. 

Despite this being an extremely exciting night with various surprise appearances and solo songs, however, many fans who attended this concert had a terrible experience to the point of accusing SM Entertainment of “scamming” them. 

In particular, fans who paid a hefty sum to secure front-row seats lamented that their view was completely blocked by alleged staff members of SM, who were using step stools, ladders, and professional cameras, likely to film the concert for future releases. 

So far, various photos taken by fans, showing their blocked views have emerged on social media, with scathing comments calling out SM. 

Topics regarding the fans’ horrible experience have also made it to Korea forum like “theqoo”, and below are some comments from netizens, most of whom also feeling frustrated for the fans: 

• This should qualify for a refund. They pay all that money for a front row seat only to have to deal with shitty view
• Is there something seriously wrong with SM’s critical thinking? Did that company got hit in the head?
• If they need to film, they should have a separate section for filming. Why would they block the view of audiences who pay 200,000 won for a seat?
• It’s really a mistake to even use chairs… The stage doesn’t look that high, so why did they do that?
• What the heck is that view? This is a case of scamming for real
• Huh, the staff??? This is the first time I’ve seen the staff obstructing the view like that at a concert
• If the staff is going to act like that in front of the fans, why not just do an online con? What are they doing with the fans sitting behind them?

Source: theqoo, Krb, X