K-pop labels SM Entertainment and HYBE slammed a circulating fraudulent ad that falsely promised a K-pop Asian tour later this year with some of their talents, including NCT Dream and SEVENTEEN, as performers.
Fans raised the alarm after seeing a teaser poster on Friday for a tour called “Fest World Tour,” which promised performances from several K-pop groups that would supposedly take place in many Asian countries, including Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand, with additional stopovers to be announced later.
คืองาน FEST WORLD TOUR ที่ไทยมีสิ้นปี แล้วมาโปรโมทให้ตื่นเต้นตั้งแต่ต้นปี ชั้นงงนะ pic.twitter.com/tTEIrg2nl0
— 모찌중원 🐈 (@902mojiwon) February 3, 2023
SM Entertainment and HYBE sub-labels Pledis Entertainment and BeLift Lab confirmed that the ad was a scam and warned fans to be cautious.
In a statement uploaded on Facebook on Friday, SM Entertainment’s Thailand subsidiary SM True said the circulating ad was “misleading and incorrect” and confirmed that their artists, NCT Dream and WayV, “will not be participating in that event.”
“We would like to ask the public not to respond to these schemes,” SM True concluded in its statement.
Pledis Entertainment wrote in a statement to those who had already bought tickets for Hwang Entertainment’s Fest World Tour 2023: “Our company does not hold responsibility for any damages occurred by this event as it is an unauthorized event.”
[NOTICE] RE: FEST WORLD TOUR 2023 | INDONESIA, KOREA, MALAYSIA, THAILAND
PLEDIS Ent. has confirmed that SEVENTEEN will NOT be participating in the said event. It is unlicensed and was announced without the company’s authorization. They also ask for CARATs to be cautious. pic.twitter.com/8Tei425dbi
— svt contents 👟 (@svtcontents) February 4, 2023
Both Pledis Entertainment and BeLift Lab announced in separate statements that they would be taking legal actions.
“We would also like to inform you that we will take legal actions against such illegal and unauthorized attempts that infringe artist IP (intellectual property),” read Pledis Entertainment’s statement.
“Any external event ENHYPEN participates is jointly announced by BELIFT LAB and the event organizers followed by discussions between both parties,” BeLift Lab wrote. “Event organizers or hosts do not announce an event without an official announcement of ENHYPEN’s official channels.”
The ad listed NCT Dream, SEVENTEEN, ENHYPEN, WayV and MIRAE as part of the Asian tour’s lineup.
The poster, shared online by organizer Hwang Entertainment, indicated that the Asian tour will take place between October and December 2023. Hwang Entertainment reportedly took down the fraudulent ad and deactivated their account after the companies took notice.
~お知らせ~
こちらの「FEST WORLD TOUR」は偽イベントである事が分かりました！
主催アカウントも既に削除されています。 pic.twitter.com/YE0oR2OaS3— taka:) (@nilokive) February 3, 2023
As can be seen in the fraudulent flier, several big-name companies were allegedly tied to the music tour, such as JD.com, Tencent and Pakumon group, as well as South Korean entertainment and mass media company CJ ENM.
