Following singer Taejin-ah, former MBC announcer Lee Jae-yong also notified that he would decline an appearance at a concert involving hardline conservative YouTuber Jeon Han-gil.
On the 23rd, the former announcer told Yonhap News, "After recognizing the nature of the event the previous day, I immediately contacted the organizer to say I could not emcee and asked to be taken down from the poster," adding, "The organizer said they would take action this morning."
Regarding the circumstances when first asked to emcee, Lee said, "It was a March 1 Independence Movement Day commemorative concert hosted by the conservative (camp), but I was told they were asking only for the concert segment emcee, so there would be no issue," adding, "However, there was no mention at all that Jeon Han-gil was connected to the event."
Lee continued, "Regardless of conservative or progressive, I have generally accepted requests to emcee concerts or book launch events within reason," but added, "I do not do far-right or far-left (events) at all because they are outside my scope. If I had been informed of the important point that it was a far-right-leaning event or one connected to Jeon Han-gil, I would not have accepted the emcee job."
Earlier, the YouTube channel "Jeon Han-gil News" promoted the "March 1 Independence Movement Day commemorative freedom concert," to be held on Mar. 2 at KINTEX in Goyang, posting a poster featuring photos of the lineup, including the former announcer and Taejin-ah.
The previous day, Taejin-ah's side said in a statement, "We will not appear at the 'March 1 Independence Movement Day commemorative freedom concert,'" adding, "We will file a defamation complaint and accusation against the event official who deceived us by presenting a political event as a general event to inquire about scheduling."
After Taejin-ah and then the former announcer both expressed their intention not to attend, Jeon posted on his YouTube channel, saying, "Following Mr. Taejin-ah, former announcer Lee Jae-yong also notified that he cannot appear at the freedom concert," adding, "It is just sad that even performances must gauge the political climate under the Lee Jae-myung administration."
He added, "Nevertheless, I will not give up," and said, "If no one comes, I will raise my voice and shout even if I am alone."