Ahead of March 1st Independence Movement Day in 2026,
the 'March 1st Memorial Freedom Concert' hosted by far-right YouTuber Jeon Han-gil
faced an unprecedented crisis of venue cancellation and a complete exodus of performers.
The event, which was scheduled to be held on March 2nd at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province,
was listed as a 'family cultural performance' on the venue reservation application,
but Jeon Han-gil himself declared on YouTube that
he would 'cry out for Yoon Again (the return of President Yoon Suk-yeol),'
revealing the true nature of the event.
What followed was a chain of withdrawal announcements from scheduled performers,
Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon's demand for venue cancellation,
and KINTEX's sudden cancellation decision,
as the situation spiraled out of control.
The Beginning of a Self-Inflicted Trap — 'Family Cultural Performance' Application and 'Yoon Again' Declaration
Jeon Han-gil's side submitted a venue reservation application to KINTEX,
describing the event as 'a family-oriented cultural performance honoring the spirit of the March 1st Movement.'
According to Gyeonggi Province, in all official administrative procedures for renting the exhibition hall,
Jeon's side omitted any content related to 'Yoon Again' and
'disguised' it as a pure cultural performance featuring singers.
However, Jeon Han-gil publicly declared on his YouTube channel that
"on March 1st, I will cry out for Yoon Again,"
and as this video spread, the serious discrepancy between the application content
and the actual purpose of the event surfaced.
| Category | Venue Application Content | Public YouTube Statements |
| Event Nature | Family cultural performance honoring the March 1st Movement | Will cry out for Yoon Again |
| Political Content | Not mentioned at all | Public declaration calling for the return of President Yoon Suk-yeol |
| Performer Information | Pure performance featuring famous singers | Political rally combined with performance |
In the end, the head-on collision between the application and the YouTube statements
meant that Jeon Han-gil himself provided the grounds for the venue cancellation.
He had tried to conceal the true nature of the event,
but ended up exposing it with his own words — a textbook case of
what is called 'being caught in one's own trap,' drawing widespread criticism.
"We Were Deceived" — The Full Story Behind the Performer Exodus
As the political nature of the event became known,
prominent figures who had been scheduled to perform withdrew one after another.
The first to push back was singer Tae Jin-ah.
His agency, Jina Entertainment, stated that
"the event organizer deceived Tae Jin-ah with lies to inquire about his schedule,
then unilaterally presented his appearance as a done deal,"
adding that they "plan to take strong legal action."
Former MBC announcer Lee Jae-yong, who was featured on the poster as the concert MC,
also said "I will not serve as the concert host,"
adding that he "issued a stern warning and told them to take the poster down immediately."
Lee Jae-yong added, "If I had known this was a far-right political event
associated with Jeon Han-gil, I would not have accepted."
Soprano Jung Chan-hee said,
"I received a verbal request to perform and accepted,
but I only learned about the poster through an acquaintance two days before
and decided not to perform."
Ballet dancer and musical actor Jung Min-chan also
officially withdrew, stating that "my photo was used on the poster without prior consent."
Jung Min-chan explained on social media, "It is true that I received a performance offer,
but I was not given a specific explanation about the event's purpose,
and I only understood it to be a March 1st commemorative event."
| Scheduled Performer | Profession | Reason for Withdrawal |
| Tae Jin-ah | Singer | Deceived with lies, plans legal action |
| Lee Jae-yong | Former MBC Announcer | Would not have accepted if aware of far-right political nature |
| Jung Chan-hee | Soprano | Only saw poster two days before, withdrew |
| Jung Min-chan | Musical Actor & Ballet Dancer | Unauthorized use of photo on poster, event purpose not disclosed |
Jeon Han-gil's side stated that they
"were not directly involved in the casting process or poster production,"
shifting responsibility to the event management company.
However, given that he had publicly declared 'Yoon Again' on his own YouTube channel,
this explanation failed to gain credibility.
Governor Kim Dong-yeon's Demand for Venue Cancellation and KINTEX's Decision
As the controversy escalated due to the chain of performer withdrawals,
Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon personally stepped in and
strongly requested the KINTEX president to cancel the venue reservation.
As Gyeonggi Province is KINTEX's largest shareholder and supervisory authority,
the governor's request carried influence tantamount to a cancellation order.
Governor Kim presented three main reasons
for urging the venue cancellation.
1. False Filing (Deception)
All official administrative procedures omitted any 'Yoon Again' content, disguising the application as a pure cultural performance
2. Social Norms
KINTEX regulations allow venue reservation restrictions for 'events deemed unacceptable by prevailing social norms'
3. Desecration of the March 1st Spirit
The determination that "the spirit of March 1st cannot be tainted by Yoon Again"
After conducting a review, KINTEX
sent an official venue cancellation notice to the organizers on February 23rd.
A KINTEX representative stated, "When the event application was first submitted,
it was described as a family-oriented cultural performance honoring the March 1st Movement,
but we later identified the actual content of the event,
and after receiving a request from Governor Kim and conducting a review,
we issued the cancellation notice."
KINTEX's regulations include a provision that allows
venue reservation restrictions for 'events deemed unacceptable by prevailing social norms,'
and this provision is reported to have served as the legal basis for the cancellation decision.
Jeon Han-gil and Kim Hyun-tae's Counter-Move — Filing Charges Against Deputy Spokesperson Ahn Gwi-ryeong for 'Attempted Robbery of Military Supplies'
On February 24th, immediately after the cancellation decision was made,
Jeon Han-gil and former Special Warfare Command 707th Special Mission Group leader Kim Hyun-tae
filed criminal charges against Presidential Office Deputy Spokesperson Ahn Gwi-ryeong
at the Seoul Yeongdeungpo Police Station in a retaliatory move.
The charges they filed included
a total of five counts, including attempted robbery of military supplies under the Military Criminal Act,
attempted aggravated robbery, and aggravated obstruction of official duties.
Jeon Han-gil and Kim Hyun-tae's side alleged that Deputy Spokesperson Ahn Gwi-ryeong
attempted to seize firearms from martial law troops
who were conducting operations inside the National Assembly grounds during the December 3rd martial law.
Deputy Spokesperson Ahn Gwi-ryeong became a prominent figure both domestically and internationally
during the December 3rd martial law when she was captured on camera
grabbing the barrel of a martial law soldier's gun with her bare hands,
drawing comparisons to Joan of Arc in foreign media.
Some analysts characterize this filing as
"political retaliation in response to the venue cancellation,"
while others interpret it as "a strategy to frame the act of resisting martial law as a crime
in order to rally their support base."
Meanwhile, Jeon Han-gil's side is pushing back with the argument of political discrimination,
saying "Would such a venue cancellation have happened
if it had been a Kim Eo-jun concert?"
Public Facility Rentals and Political Rallies — The Ambiguity of Standards
This incident raises fundamental questions about
what criteria should be used to determine whether an event constitutes
a 'political rally' when renting public facilities.
Under the current system, public facility rentals
are reviewed based on the event's stated purpose on the application form.
However, there are no clear regulatory standards for so-called 'disguised applications'
where an event is filed as a cultural event but is actually held as a political rally.
In the case of KINTEX, the cancellation decision was based on
the broad provision regarding 'events deemed unacceptable by prevailing social norms,'
but there are also criticisms that the standard of 'prevailing social norms' itself is vague.
| Issue | Pro-Cancellation Side | Anti-Cancellation Side |
| Grounds for Cancellation | Legitimate contract termination due to false application | Arbitrary cancellation based on retroactive judgment |
| Governor's Intervention | Exercise of supervisory authority as largest shareholder | Improper political interference by administrative power |
| Social Norms Standard | Objectively verifiable through evidence such as YouTube statements | Subjective interpretation, concerns of prior censorship |
| Political Bias | The false application itself is the core issue | Selective enforcement against a specific political orientation |
The Clash Between Freedom of Expression and Public Facility Management Principles
The core issue of this incident ultimately comes down to
the question of where to draw the balance between freedom of expression and public facility management principles.
The freedom of assembly, protest, and expression guaranteed by the Constitution
are core values of democracy,
and restricting the use of public facilities based on political orientation
is a matter that requires careful consideration.
At the same time, however, since public facilities are operated with taxpayer money,
the transparency and integrity of the rental process must be ensured,
and circumventing the rental review process through false filings
is a matter of procedural legitimacy that precedes the issue of freedom of expression.
• Institutional regulatory measures for post-application changes in event purpose and disguised applications when renting public facilities
• The need to establish objective and legal criteria for determining whether an event constitutes a political rally
• The scope and limits of a local government head's authority to request venue cancellation
• The legal balance between guaranteeing freedom of expression and maintaining the neutrality of public facilities
• Mechanisms to verify consistency between the stated purpose on rental applications and the actual event purpose
The Jeon Han-gil March 1st Freedom Concert incident
is not a matter that will end as a mere episode.
The self-inflicted trap of securing a venue under the guise of a 'family cultural performance'
only to openly reveal its political purpose on YouTube,
the chain of performer withdrawals with threats of legal action declaring "we were deceived,"
the governor's demand for cancellation and KINTEX's swift decision,
and the retaliatory filing of charges against Deputy Spokesperson Ahn Gwi-ryeong —
this entire sequence of events vividly illustrates the loopholes in the public facility rental system
and the social conflicts surrounding political rallies.
To prevent similar cases from recurring in the future,
there is an urgent need to establish institutional mechanisms
that can verify consistency between rental application content and actual event purposes,
as well as objective criteria to ensure political neutrality
in the operation of public facilities.