BTS Busan Concert…Who Should Bear the Cost and Responsibility of Safety Management? [HT Focus]

The issue of large-scale mobilization of public officials has come under scrutiny ahead of BTS’ Busan concert.

On the 12th and 13th, the 'BTS WORLD TOUR ARIRANG IN BUSAN' concert will be held at Sajik Stadium in Busan. On the 9th, just days before the concert, a post uploaded to the workplace community Blind sparked controversy. The post was titled, “A thousand public officials are being mobilized for free for the BTS concert.”

The author, public official A, strongly raised the issue, saying, “It is not being held on the street like the Seoul concert, it is not a free concert, and it is not hosted by Busan City,” adding, “Does it make sense that 915 general public officials from Busan City Hall, who are not police officers or firefighters, have to be mobilized for a commercial concert from which HYBE profits?” A continued, “They are trying to cover the service costs that HYBE should pay with local government budget and public official manpower.”

Other public officials who read the post also responded coldly. Critical voices continued, with comments such as, “When public officials are mobilized, they get 10,000 won per hour. They should establish safety measures and hold the concert with their own money,” “Isn’t this exactly breach of trust?” and “Has the beneficiary-pays principle disappeared?”

In fact, one Busan City public official said in an anonymous interview with KBS, “It is not an event organized by the city, but a performance where a private company makes 100% of the profit. There is a lot of dissatisfaction internally because people cannot understand why public officials have to be mobilized in large numbers to handle safety management,” adding, “I do not understand why money that HYBE should pay has to be covered with tax money.”

As the controversy grew out of control, Busan City withdrew its existing mobilization plan and shifted toward organizing personnel mainly through volunteers. A Busan City official said, “Public officials were originally scheduled to handle safety management duties such as traffic control and maintaining order around Sajik Stadium, but after internal discussions following the controversy, we decided to withdraw that plan.” The official added, “Even if the number of personnel decreases, we plan to deploy them where necessary so that citizen safety can be guaranteed as much as possible.”

The spark of this controversy goes back to BTS’ free comeback performance held at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul in March. At the time, Seoul City and the organizer expected about 260,000 visitors and deployed more than 15,000 police officers and public officials, while installing 37 security checkpoints. However, the actual counted number of people was only 40,000 according to Seoul City’s estimate and 76,000 according to HYBE’s estimate. This is why some are pointing out that the precedent of the Seoul concert, which sparked controversy over excessive response, may be repeated at the Busan concert.

Ticket prices also added fuel to the controversy. Public opinion says it is difficult to accept the use of tax money and public official manpower for a high-priced paid concert, with general S seats priced at 198,000 won, R seats at 220,000 won, and soundcheck packages at 264,000 won.

Even now, BTS continues to maintain top ranks on Hanteo’s monthly chart and charts in various countries with the new album released in March, receiving love from around the world. However, as great as that popularity is, the bitter aftertaste left by this controversy is also significant. The need for safety management to successfully hold a concert is clear, but voices are growing that clear standards must be established regarding who should bear the cost and responsibility.