SM Entertainment Calls The Cops On Protest Trucks For Taeyeon, But The Plan Backfires

Fans of Girls’ Generation member Taeyeon recently sent multiple protest trucks to SM Entertainment, demanding better management for the singer. The label, however, responded by calling the cops on them.

Taeyeon of Girls’ Generation | @taeyeon_ss/Instagram

On June 23, pictures and videos of five different protest trucks sent by Taeyeon’s Fans went viral on Twitter. Netizens reported that this was a joint venture of Chinese and Korean fans, demanding the label manage the singer’s upcoming concert schedule better. Though this organized dissent gained praise from fans, SM Entertainment lodged a civil complaint with the police, stating that the loud noise from the trucks was disrupting their business.

The protest trucks lined up in front of the SM Entertainment building on June 23 | @DC_TaeYeon/Twitter Police cars were dispatched after SM Entertainment’s complaint | @DC_TaeYeon/Twitter

The truck management company, which is also representing Taeyeon’s fans, cooperated with the police and assured them that the protest was not for any political reason and that it would continue according to civil laws, from 9 am to 5 pm on weekdays until the label issues an official apology. One of the fan organizers updated others through Twitter that because of the dispatched police cars, the trucks couldn’t operate smoothly on June 23. Since large-scale protests legally require the approval of Seoul District Police, the organizers moved quickly and obtained a legal permit to park the trucks in front of the SM Entertainment building. The protest, hence, will resume as planned.

The organizer posted the document legalizing the protest | @DC_TaeYeon/Twitter

Netizens feel that SM Entertainment’s response only escalated the situation, and many are amused by how quickly this suddenly turned into a legal battle, only for the company to be on the losing side.

| Nate Pann

• “It suddenly became a legal protest, LOL.”
• “Now it’s a legal protest; It’s not like only SM uses that building. This is too funny, LOL.”
• “It’s all nonsense down there. SM reported the trucks claiming to security risk, LOL. But now that it’s become legal, they can’t even do anything.”
• “Why would you report it? This is f*cking funny.”
• “This is freaking hilarious. Crazy, LOL.”

The specific situation that is being protested by fans is related to Taeyeon’s upcoming concert in Indonesia. SM Entertainment announced that Taeyeon will be performing at Hall 5 in the Indonesia Convention Exhibition (ICE), a venue that only holds up to 5,000 people. Given that the artist sold out venues four times the capacity of this venue, fans felt that SM was deliberately trying to cut down the singer’s audience turnout for Indonesia. Along with these trucks, fans are also rallying online against the label with the hashtag “#SM_Stop_Discriminating_Taeyeon.”