HYBE Changes Criteria for BTS Jin’s Hug Event Following Fan Complaints

Big Hit Music, HYBE’s label, announced changes to the eligibility requirements for applying to attend Jin’s offline event for “2024 FESTA”at the end of June.

The agency expressed regret to fans, stating “We are sorry for the lack of clarity in our previous announcement and for not establishing specific application criteria beforehand.”

They apologized for any inconvenience caused to fans and assured that they will carefully review the criteria and share the details as soon as possible.

On the same day, Big Hit Music announced that Jin would be attending the “2024 FESTA” event at Jamsil Sports Complex in Seoul on June 13th, the day after his military discharge. The event, which will take place at the Jamsil Indoor Gymnasium, was planned at the request of Jin, who wishes to have a special time with ARMYs in person.

Despite the agency’s efforts to inform fans of the application requirements for the event, it sparked controversy. The guidelines stated that in order to be eligible, a fan must have BTS Membership and must purchase BTS’s albums released after “Proof”through Weverse Ship during the application period. Fans will be automatically entered for the event based on the total number of albums they order from June 2nd to June 6th.

Before enlisting, Jin had only released one solo album, the single “The Astronaut” . As a result, numerous fans expressed dissatisfaction with the event, arguing that it did not properly honor Jin’s contribution since anyone who purchased solo albums from other members was also eligible to participate.

Criticism was directed towards HYBE as people pointed out that purchasing the albums again was necessary for fans to apply for the event, leading to the belief that the agency was only using the event as a money-making opportunity for themselves.