Super Junior member Ryeowook opened up about feeling responsible after a fall accident that occurred at a recent concert.
On the 7th, Ryeowook posted a long message on his personal Instagram saying, "First, I wanted to explain the incident to ELF. As soon as the accident happened, I felt so much guilt toward the friends who were injured in that situation."
Ryeowook said, "I feel like my fans were hurt because of me, and maybe it was because I got too close to the fans? In the moment of the fall, couldn't I have held on to them somehow? I was temporarily paralyzed by regret and shock," and added, "I'm not someone whose mind works that fast, so I felt so foolish that I was stopped for a moment by shock. If that looked bad, I'm sorry. Still, many ELFs who know me well all understood and explained it, and I'm really grateful."
He went on, "I also talked a lot with the injured friends at the hospital, and even while in pain they worried about me and cried saying they felt more sorry, and I don't think I'll forget those scenes," adding, "Even after more than 20 years of activity since debut, this is the first time an accident happened right before my eyes, so honestly my heart was very heavy, but I'm so, so grateful they weren't seriously injured… I'm thankful that ELFs worried about and comforted me."
Ryeowook concluded the post, "And above all, because we have to keep meeting our ELFs in the future, Super Junior will pay more attention to and be more mindful of safety. Let's all meet for a long time safely without anyone getting hurt."
Earlier, Super Junior, which includes Ryeowook, held a concert on the 5th at KSPO Dome in Olympic Park, Songpa District, Seoul. Toward the end of the performance, Ryeowook approached the audience to keep up the interaction, and at that time a temporary fence collapsed as some audience members surged forward, causing a fall accident.
Three people were injured in the accident and were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, and they received medical opinions that two weeks of rest would be required due to sprains and contusions.
In relation to this, agency SM Entertainment issued a statement in the early hours of the next day, saying, "We offer our deep apologies to those who were harmed by this accident and their families, and our company will support treatment so that the injured audience members can fully recover, and we will make our best efforts until they have completely recovered."
The agency emphasized, "As the event organizer, we feel a heavy responsibility for this accident, and we will do our utmost to thoroughly inspect facility safety and manage audience safety to prevent the same accident from recurring."
Meanwhile, Ryeowook is reported to have visited the hospital where the injured fans were taken. One of the injured fans said on social media, "Right after the accident Ryeowook and Choi Siwon immediately came down. Another member also came to check on everyone's condition," and added, "I thought everyone had gone after the hospital examinations, but Ryeowook stayed and kept waiting."
When criticism rained down over Ryeowook's handling of the accident, the fan directly recounted the situation at the time, saying, "They are really warm people. Don't cut things off and criticize without context."
[Photo] OSEN DB, SM Entertainment provided
[OSEN]