Sechs Kies member Lee Jae-jin has announced that he will not take part in a year-end event planned with fellow members Ko Ji-yong and Jang Su-won to mark the group's 30th anniversary. Lee raised concerns that the organizer had collected ticket payments through a personal bank account and failed to issue refunds, while the organizer said it had received no refund requests.
On Nov. 10, Lee posted a lengthy statement on his social media account, saying it was intended to prevent potential financial losses among fans and the public caused by opaque transactions outside official ticketing channels and to promote transparency in ticket sales.
Lee first announced that he would not participate in "THE TREE in INSPIRE – Sechs Kies' Untold Story," scheduled to take place in December at Inspire Entertainment Resort in Yeongjongdo, Incheon.
"The organizer initially proposed the event by sending us a planning proposal, and discussions about our participation began from there," Lee said. "During the discussions, however, I identified problems with the ticket booking and payment methods. Through reports from fans, I learned that the organizer had contacted fans individually and collected payments into a personal bank account. I also repeatedly confirmed that some fans who had requested refunds had yet to receive their money."
Lee said he asked the organizer to sell tickets transparently through an official ticketing platform and promptly refund outstanding payments. However, he decided not to participate because his concerns remained unresolved.
"Negotiations over my participation never resulted in a final contract, and I did not sign one," Lee said. He also asked the organizer to immediately stop using his name and photos in promotional materials and correct any existing notices that suggested his participation had been confirmed.
Mountain Movement Story, the event organizer, issued a statement later the same day, strongly disputing Lee's claims.
"The explanation that our company unilaterally planned the event and proposed it to Lee does not reflect how the discussions actually unfolded," the organizer said. "As Ko Ji-yong stated in a media interview, Lee first suggested last summer that they hold an event together, which later developed into a project involving Jang Su-won as well."
According to the organizer, Lee's side initially conveyed his intention not to participate on Nov. 5, but later reversed course and requested materials for a promotional poster. An interview featuring all three members was then held on Nov. 6 on the understanding that they would take part. Lee's side communicated its decision to withdraw again on Nov. 7, the organizer said.
Regarding the ticket payment and refund controversy, the organizer said, "According to our records, only two of Lee Jae-jin's fans have made ticket payments, and we have received no refund requests." It added that it would handle the matter directly with the buyers and urged people to verify the actual transaction records rather than allowing third-party reports to lead to inaccurate conclusions about payments and refunds.
The organizer also stressed that the payments had been made to the company's bank account, not an individual's account.
It further expressed concern that Lee's statement, which had not been shared or discussed with the other members in advance, could create the mistaken impression that Ko and Jang had known about or agreed with its contents. The organizer described the statement as Lee's unilateral position, not one agreed upon by the other two members.
Mountain Movement Story had previously announced that Ko, Lee and Jang would hold "THE TREE in INSPIRE – Sechs Kies' Untold Story" over two days, Dec. 15 and 16, at the Inspire Tower Ballroom in Incheon.
Meanwhile, the official fan club of J-Walk, the duo in which Jang is active, announced that the previously publicized two-day, one-night event featuring Lee, Ko and Jang had been canceled.
The fan club advised those who had booked through the organizer or paid participation fees through private cash transactions to contact the organizer individually to request refunds and confirm the procedures. It also urged participants to check whether their refunds had been processed and when they would be issued to avoid financial losses.
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