Karina, Kim Taerae, Sullyoon: Idols Embroiled in Election Season Controversy

It’s election season in South Korea, and you can practically feel the tension, especially if you’re a K-pop idol. These stars are trying their absolute hardest to avoid even a hint of political talk because right now, anything can be misunderstood. It’s like walking on eggshells – one wrong move, and boom, a huge controversy.

After former president Yoon’s term ended abruptly in disgrace, South Korea is heading for its 21st presidential election, also dubbed the ‘Rose Election’, on June 3. Six presidential candidates are in the running, and polls show Lee Jae Myung as the clear winner, followed by Kim Moon Soo from the People Power Party (PPP).

Karina from aespa

Take Karina from aespa. Just recently, she posted a photo from Japan on her personal account. She was wearing a red jacket with the number “2” on it. Sounds innocent, right? Well, with the presidential election only six days away, it blew up. People immediately started asking, “Does Karina support the People Power Party?” and “Is she showing her political leanings?” It got so out of hand that she quickly deleted the photo. 

The aespa leader captioned the photo with the rose emoji, hinting at the ‘Rose Election’. The red jacket with the number ‘2’ imprinted on it seemingly referenced the ballot number of presidential candidate Kim Moon Soo from PPP.

Lee Soo Jung, from the People’s Power Party, jumped in, reposting Karina’s photo and saying things like, “The hypocrites are ganging up. Not worth paying attention to. Secondary harm to the victim, it’s severe, but let’s overcome it!” along with a controversial photo of the 25-year-old K-pop star. She even added a hashtag showing support for Karina, “If you mess with Karina, you are done.”

Kim Taerae of ZEROBASEONE

This isn’t just about Karina. Kim Tae-rae from Zero Base One also ran into trouble. He made a “V” pose (like a peace sign) on a fan app, a common gesture among K-pop idols. But during election time, that “V” can also be misconstrued and seen as number 2. He quickly had to explain, “Ah, right, because of the current season, [my agency] told me not to do the V-pose.” 

Kim Taerae cleverly added, “I’ll neutralize it with the color of my phone (blue)” to avoid any more misunderstandings. He ended up deleting his photo, too.

Sullyoon from NMIXX

Then, there’s Sullyoon from NMIXX. She was on a live stream, and just naturally made a “V” sign to her fans. Fans could see her face suddenly change, and she quickly started doing all sorts of other finger poses from one to ten to cover it up. It was clear Sullyoon realized the potential issue.

During the politically charged climate, many celebrities, especially K-pop idols, are very careful about how they look and what they do during important times like elections because they don’t want to show who they support politically.

In Karina’s case, it seems unlikely she meant to show her political views. However, it is regrettable that she wasn’t more careful, especially since the presidential election is happening very soon, with early voting starting this Thursday.