The 2016 summer season was very busy for Got7, the leading K-pop boy group under JYP Entertainment right now. Back in March, they released their fifth extended play (EP), a mini-album titled Flight Log: Departure featuring the featured track title “Fly” as well as “Home Run.” The former earned Got7 numerous first place trophies on M! Countdown , Music Bank , Inkigayo , and The Show too.
Eventually, Got7 continued the promotions for Flight Log: Departure with a worldwide tour called the Fly Tour . The tour was divided up into three different legs, two in Asia and one in the United States. Though the tour started out with JB, the leader of Got7, being absent at the first concerts which took place at the SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium in Seoul, South Korea, on April 29 and 30, the tour overall was a success.
As of now, the Fly Touris officially over but Got7 still has other K-pop idol duties they must fulfill. Sadly, one of the members, Jackson, was involved in a minor car crash while in transit to continue forward with said duties. JYP Entertainment claims Jackson suffered only minor injuries but also made it known the accident was caused by sasaeng IGOT7 fans.
The situation pertaining to Jackson was originally reported on Korean news outlet Naver as well as updated on the JYP Entertainment Fan Board . According to a statement provided by JYP Entertainment on September 1, Wong Ka Yee or Jackson Wang, better known simply as Jackson, was involved in a car crash in the morning. He was on his way to the airport when he ended up in an accident caused by a sasaeng IGOT7 fan following him.
Right after the news of Jackson being involved in a car crash was reported, numerous photos of Jackson allegedly after the accident popped up on social media. According to AllKpop , fans assumed Jackson suffered a hip injury while he was being taken to a nearby hospital for examination.
GOT7’s Jackson Gets Injured After Being Car-Chased By Sasaeng Fans #GetWellSoonJackson https://t.co/X1v4ezLe3S pic.twitter.com/KhSRQ8nyRF
— hellokpop (@hellokpop) September 1, 2016
For those who do not know exactly why Jackson was on his way to the airport, he was to fly to Japan to be a part of JYP Nation Concert “Mix & Match” being held on Sunday, September 4, as reported by Soompi . At this moment, it is unknown if Jackson will be alright to partake in the concert, but JYP Entertainment did provide a statement that they will continue forward with Jackson depending on what medical authorities say.
“We’ll [JYP Entertainment] be able to determine his activity schedules based on the results [of his examination]. The health of our agency’s artists is our first priority.”
Many K-pop fans, especially those who are IGOT7 (official fan club for Got7), sent well wishes to Jackson, hoping he feels better soon. However, many of them also expressed major disdain for the sasaeng IGOT7 fan who caused the accident and hurt Jackson in the first place.
“The fan caused Jackson’s car accident is not even a fan.”
“To think it’s because of a fan’s car. How traumatizing.”
In reality, many sasaeng fans are overly obsessed but are known for heckling and stalking K-pop idols more so than being supportive of their work. Because of this fact, many K-pop fans and IGOT7 members argued if the fan who caused the car accident is even a fan at all.
“Are you sure you didn’t follow him around to bother him, not because you liked him if it’s to this extent?”
“Even if you are a sasaeng fan, if you like him, shouldn’t you be careful? Sasaeng fans are really thoughtless.”
Since the situation with Jackson is ongoing, we will provide updates when they become available, especially any news of if Jackson will participate in the upcoming JYP Nation Concert “Mix & Match.” As for the remaining members of Got7, they are expected to be at the event along with other prominent JYP Entertainment K-pop acts such as Twice, Wonder Girls, and 2PM. We might get lucky and even see a performance by Triple T too.
[Image via JYP Entertainment]