On August 10, Monday, ONF held an online comeback showcase that was meant to have no live audiences. Shortly after the comeback showcase, WM Entertainment stated that uninvited "fans" had snuck into the venue and violated "fan club etiquette."
WM Entertainment ended up releasing a statement to the official fan cafe, revealing what the sasaeng fans have done at the event and ultimately apologizing for being unable to prevent the sasaengs from causing trouble. The statement reads,
"Hello. This is WM Entertainment.
Despite our recent announcement concerning "fan club etiquette", which explained how ONF's schedules are closed to the public and meant to have no audience viewership, we had to deal with people violating this at today's (August 10, Monday) showcase, 'VLIVE ONF [SPIN-OFF] COMEBACK SHOWCASE.'
We have found some fans entering the venue and stand-by areas without permission. They also took videos of the rehearsal and the actual showcase, which goes against our rules. They were able to get their hands on confidential documents, ate the food catered for the staff and the artists, and they fought with the security after being found hiding out in the bathroom. All of this created difficulties from running a smooth showcase. Specifically, they caused some inconveniences for our artists by occupying the stand-by area, the area in which artists are supposed to prepare for their performances, which led to interruptions in our artists' routines.
In line with the venue's COVID-19 policy, all staff had to wear face masks while inside, which made it difficult to identify and stop fans from entering. We apologize for the situation. We will work towards providing tighter security to ensure this does not happen again."
Some fans wondered why the agency felt the need to apologize; instead, many believed those sasaeng fans should confess what they did and apologize. One netizen said: "I don't understand why the agency ended up apologizing in their statement. The sasaengs should be warned instead."
This led to a discussion on sasaeng fans - by definition, a sasaeng is a fan that borders towards obsession, willing to go through numerous lengths, and even break their favorite celebrity's privacy to be noticed. Many netizens believe sasaengs are not fans and deserve proper punishment for their actions. Check out netizens comments here:
"Those so-called 'fans' need to be kicked out."
"They cannot be f***ing serious..."
"They found fans hiding out in the bathroom? Is that not a crime? How can these people call themselves fans?"
"What the actual f**k? I hope they get sentences by the police."
"There is no way these are real fans."
What do you think of the situation?
ONF debuted in 2017 under WM Entertainment and currently have six members: Hyojin, E-Tion, J-Us, Wyatt, MK, and U. They were originally seven, but former member Laun left the group in 2019 for personal reasons. Since debut, they have released four Korean extended plays. Since their debut in Japan in August 8, 2018, the group has releaased two Japanese singles.
The group started gaining more fans and popularity following their appearance on Mnet's "Road to Kingdom", where the group placed second overall. Many netizens praised the group for their artistry and how creative and new each performance was, leading them to climb up K-pop group's brand reputation lists.
