On August 10, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s audit office assigned an audit officer to review complaints surrounding the approval, facility use and visitor restrictions related to BLACKPINK’s fan meeting at the National Museum of Korea. The office is expected to process the complaint by August 19.
The case concerns BLACKPINK’s 10th anniversary “Meet & Greet,” held at the National Museum of Korea on August 8. The event was attended by the four BLACKPINK members and 40 fans selected through a lottery.
At the center of the controversy are questions about how the fan meeting was approved and the impact the event had on the museum’s normal operations.
As late as the afternoon of August 7, one day before the event, the exact location of the fan meeting inside the National Museum of Korea had reportedly not yet been finalized. YG Entertainment and the museum were said to still be coordinating the details at the time.
However, on the day of the event, access to certain exhibition areas was restricted, while the schedules of existing educational programs were also changed. Artist Ida, who was scheduled to host an “Amazing Thailand Exhibition Viewing + Drawing Workshop,” described the situation on X, saying, “The exhibition viewing was supposed to start at 2:30 p.m., but they forcibly extended the theory lecture until 3:10 p.m.”
The BLACKPINK fan meeting did result in restrictions on some museum spaces and changes to the workshop schedule. Some members of the public subsequently expressed their dissatisfaction online.
The complaint asks authorities to examine whether the fan meeting was treated as an external rental or as a joint event or cultural and promotional project organized by the National Museum of Korea. It also calls for scrutiny of the approval process for facility use, restrictions on access to exhibition spaces, changes to existing program schedules and the way information about the event was posted on the museum’s website.
The complaint further requests that, if inappropriate administrative procedures are identified, authorities take necessary measures such as corrections, warnings, improvements, recommendations or official notifications. It also asks officials to consider reporting the matter to investigative authorities if evidence of work-related criminal activity is uncovered. If misconduct is confirmed, disciplinary or other accountability measures have also been requested.
During the audit review, officials may examine when discussions and applications for the event first began, when approval was granted, when the actual venue was finalized, how decisions were made to restrict certain exhibition areas and why existing program schedules were changed. If the event was processed as an external rental, the applicability of relevant rental regulations could become a key issue. If it was instead classified as a museum-organized or joint project, officials may examine the internal basis and approval process behind that decision.
The audit office will determine whether an actual audit is necessary as it reviews the complaint. Under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s current audit regulations, audits may be conducted when necessary to identify problems in specific duties, projects, funds or vulnerable areas of administration, determine their causes and responsibility, and establish measures for improvement.
BLACKPINK’s 10th anniversary celebration had already faced controversy before the museum event. The fan meeting was announced just two days before the group’s debut anniversary, while attendance was limited to only 40 fans, prompting criticism and disappointment among some members of the fandom.
Sources: Naver