'Many people will die': Bomb threat delays K-pop group The Boyz's concert at KSPO Dome in Seoul
The concert of K-pop idol group The Boyz was delayed for two hours after a bomb threat was sent through fax on Aug. 10.
They were scheduled to hold the third and final day of their “The Blaze” World Tour in Seoul at 4 p.m. KST at the KSPO Dome in Seoul.
However, at 2 p.m. on Aug. 10, a fax message, sent by someone claiming to be a lawyer, was received by the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation at Olympic Park in Seoul claiming that bombs were planted in KSPO Dome, which has a capacity of 15,000 people.
“Warning: Bombs have been planted. I have planted several high-powered bombs in various locations within the KSPO Dome (424 Olympic-ro, Songpa-gu, Seoul). The detonation time is between 4:43 PM and 8:10 PM on August 10th. Many people will die. There is no choice but to commit terrorism,” the bomb threat read that was written in Korean and Japanese. A copy was posted by netizens online.
As a result, the Korean police deployed 57 officers, including mobile patrol officers and SWAT officers, to search KSPO Dome for about an hour.
About 2,000 visitors were evacuated and the scene was controlled. The fire department responded jointly with 78 personnel and 19 pieces of equipment, Korean media reported.
No explosives were found. The police and fire authorities concluded the search for explosives around 4:22 PM and lifted the scene control.
The fax message was sent from a Japanese international number, the report added.
The Boyz’s agency, One Hundred, issued a notice at 3:39 p.m. to say that the concert will start at 6 p.m. KST.
“THE BOYZ WORLD TOUR in SEOUL today's (10th) performance start time has been postponed to 6:00 PM. On August 10th, a report of explosives being installed inside the KSPO DOME (Gymnastics Arena) was received, and the police and fire departments conducted a safety inspection of the facility,” the agency said.
It added, “We apologize for the delay in announcement due to the safety inspection. The inspection has been completed and the house will open at 4:45 PM. We apologize again for the wait in the hot weather. Please note that we are distributing refreshing water around the concert venue. We ask for your understanding.”