PSY water show concerts under fire for possibly spreading Covid-19

Concert attendees get drenched in water during PSY's concert held in Seoul on July 17. [YONHAP]

While Korea is seeing a surge in Covid-19 cases, PSY’s water show concerts, already controversial for wasting water, are again under fire — this time for spreading the virus.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters said on Tuesday that it has been getting reports from people saying they’ve contracted Covid-19 after attending a music concert that “sprays water.”

“We have launched an investigation to see what kind of actions are taking place during the event that could be risk factors in transmitting the virus,” an official from the headquarters said.

The authorities urged concert organizers to refrain from spraying water during music concerts or festivals, which they say could be a factor in transmitting the virus.

P Nation, PSY’s label, has been giving out three waterproof masks to each participant attending the concert. The K-pop star has four more concert scheduled in three cities: on Aug. 6 in Yeosu, Aug. 13 and 14 in Daegu and Aug. 20 in Busan.

BY YIM SEUNG-HYE [yim.seunghye@joongang.co.kr]