4Minute hit hard by Pangyo accident

K-pop girl band 4Minute

By Baek Byung-yeul

K-pop girl band 4Minute has canceled a series of activities after a fatal incident at a show they were participating in last week.

Last Friday, 16 people died when a ventilation grate they were standing on collapsed while the band was performing at a concert in Pangyo, south of Seoul. Eleven people were seriously injured.

Cube Entertainment, 4Minute’s managing company, said that the band members were not aware that the incident had happened as they left the venue right after performing.

“We cannot find words to express our sorrow,” the band said in a statement, Monday. “As the concert was a joint performance of many musicians, we left the venue as soon as our set finished without noticing that the tragedy happened.”

As a sign of respect for the victims of the Pangyo incident, Gayoon, a member of the band, canceled her appearance at the Seoul Fashion Week on Sunday. Hyuna, another 4Minute member who was scheduled to attend a fashion show in Seoul on Monday, also canceled.

Critics have called on the government to strengthen safety conditions of performances as this incident was not the first of its kind.

“4Minute members are also partly victims of this tragedy. Who would have known that they would suffer such an extreme level of trauma? All we, fans and medias, need to do is to pay more attention to them and give them a warm hand,” said culture critic Bae Kook-nam.

Korea has repeatedly witnessed safety accidents at concerts.

In 1992, a teenager was crushed to death and over 60 people were injured after hundreds of fans swarmed around the stage during the performance of American pop band New Kids On the Block. In 1996, one person was also crushed to death when 5,000 people gathered to get a front seat for a concert held by a popular FM radio show in Daegu.