Super Junior’s Kyuhyun Defends Staff After Being Left Behind During Hotel Fire
Super Junior's Kyuhyun defended his staff in a bid to calm things down as ELF fans threw up a ruckus after finding out that the singer was left behind in a burning building in Taipei. He considered the controversy a "misunderstanding" and instead blamed himself for it. The star downplayed what could've been his second life-threatening situation and revealed that he chose to stay behind in the hotel room to continue working. He added that he didn't want "controversy happening after a good concert."
Kyuhyun tweeted Sunday, "In short, I was with my manager & staff in my room to go through things to say at the concert and we missed the time to evacuate. Meanwhile, we had heard that the fire was taken care of and rather than going down the stairs and inhaling smoke I chose to stay in the room." Super Junior's youngest member and staff checked in at Regent Taipei Hotel that caught fire Saturday and forced the evacuation of 350 of its guests and staff. According to Taiwan News, the fire started from a Chanel storage room at the hotel's first floor and extinguished 90 minutes after by fire fighters.
Fans didn't like it when the 29-year-old balladeer apologized the next day during his concert, unable to sing the song "At Gwanghwamun." They discovered the incident when the singer himself explained that he's suffering from bad throat after inhaling too much smoke from the previous night's hotel fire. Kyuhyun was let off the hook but not his staff, who went under fire for having evacuated without him and even posting selfies at Starbucks with hashtages #SleepingAtStarbucks and #MeetingOfFireVictims. Fans also called out SM Entertainment to axe Super Junior's manager Park Yong Suk.
Bandmate Shindong only recently brought up again in a variety show how their leader Leeteuk risked his life to save Kyuhyun during the 2007 car accident. Super Junior is preparing to release a comeback album once Siwon, Eunhyuk and Donghae returns from the military. The youngest member currently stars in tvN's "New Journey To The West 3" and is expected to enlist in the military this year.
