“Kim Min-seok barges onto stage during singer’s performance” ... Apologizes amid “excessive protocol” controversy

[Financial News] Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok apologized after controversy erupted over “excessive protocol” when he stopped an invited singer’s performance and delivered congratulatory remarks at a local festival last week.
According to political sources and Sunchang County in North Jeolla Province on the 18th, greetings to VIPs took place during singer HYNN (Park Hye-won)’s congratulatory performance at the opening ceremony of the 21st Sunchang Fermented Soybean Festival, held on the 15th at Sunchang Gochujang Folk Village.
After the singer had performed two songs and was preparing for the next set, the host went onstage and called out Kim, saying, “There’s a huge fan who wants to see you up close.” When Kim went onstage, the singer left, and Kim delivered congratulatory remarks, mentioning local lawmakers and others. The interrupted performance resumed after his remarks.
Controversy later arose over the performance being unilaterally halted, without prior notice to the singer, to introduce a prominent politician—a case of excessive protocol for a politician.
The People Power Party also criticized the incident. In a statement, its senior deputy floor spokesperson Choi Su-jin called it “an absurd farce in which the invited singer had to retreat below the stage as if being chased off after the sudden interruption of the performance and Kim’s appearance,” and criticized it as “the height of arrogance—seeking to place even the public’s precious right to enjoy culture beneath the feet of power.”
As the controversy spread, Kim apologized on social media (SNS) that day, saying, “I apologize to the singer and audience members for causing them discomfort.” However, he explained, “I declined to give remarks because the performance was underway, but while I was looking around the venue, the host suddenly called on me, so I ended up giving remarks.”
The Sunchang Fermented Soybean Festival Committee also issued an apology, saying, “Because of an error by the organizers, greetings to VIPs took place during the performance,” and added, “We apologize to the singer who prepared for the performance and the audience, as well as to Kim, who became embroiled in an unintended controversy.” It continued, “We will carefully improve the overall event proceedings and stage production.”
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