Karina from the K-pop girl group aespa has been caught in a social media storm after an Instagram post unintentionally sparked political controversy in South Korea. The singer uploaded photos of herself wearing a red and black jacket with the number "2" and captioned it with a single rose emoji.
While fans overseas found the post harmless, many Korean netizens quickly linked it to Kim Moon Soo, a presidential candidate associated with the ruling People Power Party. Red is the party's color, and "2" is Kim's assigned candidate number.?
The post was taken down within hours, but not before it drew sharp criticism. Karina was accused of subtly endorsing a political figure¡ªsomething K-pop idols typically avoid due to their widespread influence over young fans.?
The backlash prompted SM Entertainment to release a statement clarifying that the post had "no political intent." Karina also issued a personal apology through the paid fan app Bubble, stating she never meant to offend anyone.?
In the aftermath, Karina's Instagram followers dropped from 24 million to 23.8 million¡ªa loss of about 200,000. Some attributed the dip to the controversy, while others pointed out that Instagram had recently purged inactive or bot accounts, a trend that affected many other celebrity profiles as well. Several fans noted that the follower count had begun to drop days before the post went live.
As the backlash intensified, some fans began speculating that SM Entertainment was engaging in "media play" to deflect attention. Older, unrelated news involving HYBE, its artists, and HYBE Chairman Bang Si-Hyuk began circulating on Korean media platforms¡ªdespite offering no substantial updates. Fans noted the suspicious timing, suggesting these articles were resurfaced deliberately to shift focus away from Karina.?
Meanwhile, aespa's fans¡ªknown as MYs¡ªrallied on X (formerly Twitter), launching a campaign highlighting other idols who have also used the peace sign, arguing that similar gestures had gone uncriticized.?
However, fans of HYBE artists responded strongly, accusing MYs of spreading "false equivalencies." They insisted Karina's apology should have been posted on Instagram¡ªwhere the controversy originated¡ªrather than on Bubble, a paid fan communication app.?
Some users also noted that Karina's statement regarding her dating news was more extensive than her current apology, further fueling dissatisfaction.
Despite diverging opinions, one thing is clear: the incident has opened up wider conversations about idol accountability, fan behavior, and the complicated intersection of pop culture and politics in South Korea.??
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