BTS member Jin has explained and apologized for the controversy surrounding the ‘2024 FESTA‘ free hug event.
Jin completed his military service and was discharged from active duty in the army on the morning of the 12th. He enlisted in the Key Recruit Training Battalion of the 5th Infantry Division in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province, on December 13, 2022, and served as an active-duty army instructor. Jin is the first BTS member to be discharged, drawing significant attention.
Jin was welcomed back by his fellow members, who took special leave to greet him, and he then moved to the HYBE headquarters. At around 11:30 AM KST, he engaged with ARMYs through a live broadcast on the fan community platform Weverse.
On the following day, June 13, Jin will attend the ‘2024 FESTA’ held at the Jamsil Sports Complex in Seoul to meet with ARMYs.
The offline event includes two fan events at the indoor gymnasium: ‘Jin’s Greetings’ (Part 1, 3 PM) and ‘June 13, 2024, Seokjin, Clear Weather’ (Part 2, 8 PM).
Initially, ‘Jin’s Greetings’ was announced as a free hug event, sparking debate due to the additional purchase of albums required for entry. In response to the controversy, BigHit issued an apology and revised the entry conditions, stating, “We apologize once again for the additional purchase condition for the ‘Jin’s Greetings’ event at ‘2024 FESTA.'”
Jin emphasized that the free hug event was his idea. He explained, “I came up with a good idea but received a lot of criticism. I brought the initial proposal myself and insisted on proceeding alone. Initially, they said no to the free hug event.“
He continued, “The staff was concerned that too many people would gather and someone might get hurt. However, I insisted on doing the free hug event for a month. The company persuaded me by highlighting the potential risks, so we suggested holding it indoors with a selected number of attendees.“
Jin initially planned for 3,000 people to participate in the free hug event. He added, “The company opposed it, so I mentioned 2,000, but that was also difficult. Ultimately, we settled on 1,000.” Addressing the issues with the album purchase requirement, Jin said, “There seemed to be a problem with the entry method. I heard about it but forgot. There was a reason, but I didn’t pay enough attention. I’m sorry,” and bowed his head in apology.
SEE ALSO: BTS’s Jin completes military service, ready to rejoin group activities
