The singer Kang Sung Hoon from the first-generation K-pop idol group Sechs Kies is holding a free fan meeting at the end of the month. On November 2nd, he announced a fan meeting event to be held on November 30th. Fans have been able to apply for seats from the day after the announcement. The event is the first in a long while, mainly because the singer has been involved in several legal issues.
Kang made his debut in 1997 as the main vocal of Sechs Kies, an all-male dance music band whose popularity was second only to H.O.T. After the disbanding of the group, Kang released solo albums but never reached the fame and success level of Sechs Kies.
Sechs Kies announced its reform in 2016, and had considerable success for the second time under the management of YG, one of the biggest entertainment companies in Korea.
Before this occurred, Kang had been sued a couple of times for failing to pay his debtors back large sums of money to debtors, and was even held in custody for months for fraud; he was released on probation. Kang was therefore banned by the broadcasting companies from appearing on television for potential bad influence. It seemed that he was driven out of the entertainment industry altogether.
Things took a turn for the better for Kang, when he was welcomed back on the air as a member of Sechs Kies in 2016. This was literally a second chance to rebuild his life as a K-pop singer. This came to an end, however, when he was sued for fraud by his fans. He had failed to keep his promise to donate the profits of a film showing he held. The film consisted of footages of the group Sechs Kies, and Kang’s claim to profit from the showing had been based on his promise of donation for good cause in the group’s name.
In addition, he was dropped by YG because his contract for a concert in Taiwan had not been approved by the management company, though Kang had implied that it was. After being kicked out from Sechs Kies, Kang’s embarrassing behavior could only be seen through social media. Ever since, he became the center of attention for several videos, including his making threats to his former manager and his disparagement of younger singers’ looks.
In July this year, Kang donated the profits from the 2017 film showing, and was not charged. The prosecutor over his case decided that fans had paid for tickets, rather than meaning to donate money for a good cause, although donation in the name of Sechs Kies had been promised by Kang.
Kang Sung Hoon’s free fan meeting is, then, an attempt to gather his fans who have not yet been turned into anti-fans. It may be interesting to see what may come out of the event and the singer’s career for the future.
— J. Chung.