"That not true"- Officials respond to viral claims of First Lady's involvement in BLACKPINK's 2023 cancelled White House performance

On February 19, a South Korean media outlet reported on BLACKPINK’s canceled 2023 White House performance. YG Entertainment had announced that BLACKPINK was invited to perform with Lady Gaga at a banquet between former US President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol.

However, the show was canceled for unspecified reasons, leading to speculation that Korea’s First Lady, Kim Keon-hee, rejected the performance due to her alleged discomfort around younger women.

Most recently, Park Ji-won and Park Su-won, lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Korea and former members of the National Intelligence Service, reportedly claimed through CBS Radio that the performance was canceled due to Kim Keon-hee's preferences. Here's what their claims stated:

“First Lady Kim Keon Hee dislikes young women being present, so she blocked the performance. Kim personally caused the event to be canceled.”

However, on February 19, the Korean media outlet JoongAng reported that their claims were untrue. The news outlet stated that the current lawmakers and presidential office officials explained that the cancellation of the group's performance at the White House was due to budget issues. Here's what JoongAng wrote:

""That is not true." They explained that the joint performance was canceled due to cost issues and that First Lady Kim did not oppose it. A pro-Yoon lawmaker from the People’s Power Party said in a phone call on the 19th, ‘At the time, BLACKPINK had agreed to perform without a separate guarantee fee, but the costs for staff, concert preparations, and inviting Lady Gaga were too burdensome for both governments to cover."

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All you need to know about BLACKPINK's recent activities

BLACKPINK is a four-piece K-pop girl group that debuted under YG Entertainment in 2016. The group consists of Jisoo, Jennis, Lisa, and Rosé. As of December 2023, following the expiration of the members' contracts with the agency, they've collectively departed YG Entertainment.

Regardless, BLACKPINK's contract as a group is still valid under YG Entertainment. After the departure, the members signed with other entertainment agencies or kickstarted their labels. Jisoo started her own agency, BLISSOO, in collaboration with her brother's company, Biomom.

Jennie and Lisa also started their own labels, Odd Atelier and LLOUD, respectively. Jennie is also housed under Columbia Records, while Lisa is signed under RCA Records for international solo schedules. Rosé signed a management contract with YG Entertainment's subsidiary, The Black Label, and is also housed under Atlantic Records.

In 2024, the K-pop girl group members paused their activities as a group to focus on their solo careers. In July 2025, the members are expected to reunite for the 2025 BLACKPINK world tour. Here are the dates and venues for the same:

• July 5 - July 6: Goyang Stadium, Goyang, South Korea
• July 12: Sofi Stadium, Los Angeles, United States
• July 18: Soldiers Field, Chicago, United States
• July 22: Rogers Stadium, Toronto, Canada
• July 26: Citi Field, New York, United States
• August 2: Stade De France, Paris, France
• August 6: Ippodromo Snai La Maura, Milan, Italy
• August 9: Estadi Olímpic, Barcelona, Spain
• August 15: Wembley Stadium, London, England
• August 16 - August 18: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan

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Therefore, fans and netizens have been eagerly looking forward to seeing what the members have in store for them, both as soloists and BLACKPINK.