SOURCE: BTS 방탄 광화문 공연으로 하이브는 100억 벌고 시민들은 300억 손해봄
Is it free just because they don't charge for tickets? We broke down the actual costs.
HYBE's cost: 90 million KRW (venue rental + filming permits)
Citizens' cost: ~30 billion KRW (taxes + inconvenience + loses)
Direct public costs (taxes): 10.5 to 10.7 billion KRW
-Deployment of 6,700 police officers: 6.5 to 10 billion KRW
-Deployment of 3,400 Seoul city & fire department staff: 2 to 3 billion KRW
-Traffic control, additional temporary trains, welcoming events: 1.5 to 3 billion KRW
-Gyeongbokgung Palace closure, Ministry. Culture crisis alert: 0.5 to 1 billion KRW
Hidden costs (private sector):4.9 to 13.1 billion KRW
-Restrictions of 31 buildings and loss of business sales: 2.8 to 6.8 billion KRW
-33-hour closure of Sejong-daero, traffic congestion: 0.9 to 2.7 billion KRW
-Forced annual leave, wedding disruptions, delivery bans: 0.7 to 2 billion KRW
-Public safety gaps, special responses by 3 major telecom companies: 0.5 to 1.5 billion KRW
HYBE's tour operating profit is more than 400 billion KRW, while the estimated social cost of ~30 billion KRW is only 0.8% of that
Cost per Seoul citizen: ~3,160 KRW
Cost per South Korea citizen: ~590 KRW
This wasn't a free concert. The bill was passed to the citizens. In the UK and the US, the costs for police deployed at large private events are billed to the organizers. Only South Korea lacks such a system. This isn't meant to be attacking BTS, but questioning the structure.
COMMENTS:
(To be updated)
