[News] Lee Min Ho China Event Gets Cancelled Due to Big Crowd

CJ E&M enewsWorld Lee, DongHyun Translation Credit : Erika Kim Lee Min Ho had to cancel a promotion event in China – not because he didn’t have enough people to hold the event with, but because there were too many. Lee Min Ho was planning to attend the opening event for a Semir branch in Xi’an on April 2. From the day before the event, however, 5,000 fans swarmed to the scene, leading to the cancellation of the event.

Semir is the biggest casual clothing brand in China, as it owns 6,000 branches across China. On the day of the event, the brand was due to open a large flagship store in downtown Xi’an, and was to celebrate the opening with an event featuring the brand’s model Lee Min Ho. But too many people turned up for the event, leading the branch to cancel the event. From the day before the event, crowds set up tents in front of the shop to see Lee Min Ho as close up as possible, and near the time the event was due to start, 5,000 people (estimate by Chinese Public Security Officers) had filled up the square in front of the shop. Employees of the shop couldn’t get out because they were trapped inside. One hundred extra staffmembers and bodyguards and 300 Public Security Officers were dispatched to the scene, but they were no match for the sea of Chinese fans. In the end, the event was cancelled when the host and Public Security judged it would be unsafe to continue. Lee Min Ho thus had to return to Korea without getting to step outside of his hotel on official business.

A rep from Semir said, “We’re sad that we didn’t even get to start the event when we invested a lot of money and time into it, but the fact that a big crowd gathered for the event made it into the news and spread through word of mouth, so that somewhat helped with the image of the brand.” In an emergency video produced at his hotel, Lee Min Ho said, “I’m sorry I didn’t get to see you before my departure. I promise I’ll see you next time.” The video was aired on a large screen in the square to cheers from the waiting crowd. Lee Min Ho also prepared 300 autographed papers for his fans. He had to sign the papers by himself in his hotel room, without anyone to stand in front of him like any other fansigning session. Through his Weibo after he returned to Korea, Lee Min Ho again said, ‘I’m so thankful and sad that so many fans had to wait at the scene for a long time. I hope I’ll get a chance to meet you again’. Lee Min Ho will be returning to the small screen in August with SBS’ Faith as Choi Young, the head of the King’s personal guard. Photo credit: Starus Entertainment Source: enewsworld