HYBE apologizes for inconvenience after first day of BTS Busan concert was delayed

[Financial News] BTS apologized through its agency after the first day of the group's world tour concert, "ARIRANG," held at Busan Asiad Main Stadium on the 12th, was delayed by more than an hour. On the night of the 12th, HYBE, the agency of Big Hit Music, posted a notice on the fan platform Weverse, saying, "We deeply apologize to all audience members who came to watch the world tour 'ARIRANG' on the 12th for the major inconvenience caused by the delayed start of the performance."
The previous day's show began at around 8:15 p.m., about 1 hour and 15 minutes later than the originally scheduled 7 p.m. start, as audience entry was delayed. Complaints about the inconvenience quickly spread online.
HYBE said, "We prepared as thoroughly as possible to ensure a meaningful experience for the audience and to avoid any shortcomings in operations. However, a combination of factors, including confusion in on-site guidance, bottlenecks in the fan gift distribution process, and delays in merchandise pickup, pushed back the start of the main performance." It added, "We once again offer our sincere apologies to the audience members who waited a long time to attend the concert and were left deeply disappointed and inconvenienced."
BTS will hold the second Busan show at the same venue on the 13th, which marks the group's 13th debut anniversary. HYBE said, "For the performance on the 13th, we will thoroughly review and improve overall on-site operations, including entry and gift distribution, so that the same congestion does not occur."
Meanwhile, BTS's new song "Come Over," released the previous day, ranked No. 1 on iTunes Top Songs charts in 79 countries worldwide, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Japan, as of 6 a.m. on the 13th. The track was released during the week of the group's anniversary event, the 2026 BTS FESTA, adding to its significance. BTS's fifth full-length album, Arirang, also topped Spotify's Weekly Top Albums Global chart for a second consecutive week, marking its ninth time at No. 1 overall.

jiany@fnnews.com Reporter Yeon Ji-an Reporter