Kim Min-seok apologises after festival speech interrupts HYNN’s performance

South Korea’s Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok (김민석) apologised on October 18 to singer HYNN and an audience in Sunchang after giving greetings during her festival performance. Kim said on X that he had indicated he would not speak because a performance was under way, but the host unexpectedly called his name while he was looking around the venue. He apologised again for causing inconvenience to the singer and spectators, Yonhap reported. [ 16 ]

The incident occurred during the opening celebration of the 21st Sunchang Jangnyu Festival on October 15. HYNN had sung two songs and was preparing the next when the host introduced Kim. She left the stage, and her performance resumed after his remarks. The People Power Party criticised the interruption, saying a festival for citizens had been used to promote Democratic Party politicians. A Democratic Party spokesperson said the unexpected invitation did not remove the impropriety of stopping the show or the inconvenience to the audience, Kyunghyang Shinmun reported. [ 3 , 12 , 18 ]

The festival committee also apologised, saying an error by the organisers had resulted in greetings by guests during the performance. It apologised to the singer, her fans and spectators, and to Kim for the unintended controversy. The committee said it would improve event management and stage direction. HYNN said through her agency that various situations arise during live performances and that she would continue doing her best to sing under any circumstances, CBS NoCut News reported. [ 18 , 22 ]