aespa's Karina comes under fire for controversial Instagram post amid Korean election season

Karina, member of K-pop girl group aespa, has faced public criticism after posting a photo during South Korea’s sensitive election season.

On May 27, she uploaded an image to Instagram featuring a black jacket with red detailing and the number 2, along with a red rose emoji. Though the photo was soon deleted, it sparked immediate backlash online.

Photo: Instagram

Social media users accused Karina of subtly endorsing a political candidate, with phrases such as “No. 2 voter Karina” and “conservative Karina” trending. In the current election,Kim Moon-soo, the candidate of the conservative People Power Party (PPP) uses red and holds ballot position number 2.

During election periods, K-pop idols are urged to follow an unspoken “no colour, no gesture” rule. This includes avoiding party colours—red, blue, yellow, and green—and refraining from hand gestures like the peace sign or thumbs-up, which may be construed as symbolic support.

In response to the incident, SM Entertainment released a formal statement, denying any political intent and stating that the post was “simply shared from daily life.” 

This is SM Entertainment.

We apologize for causing concern due to our artist Karina’s recent post.

Karina simply shared something from her daily life on social media, with absolutely no other intention or purpose. Once she realized that the post could be misunderstood, she immediately deleted it. We sincerely apologize for any distress this may have caused unintentionally.

Our agency will also be more careful and make greater efforts to prevent such incidents from happening in the future. We hope that our artist’s intentions will no longer be misrepresented or consumed with a particular agenda, and we will do our utmost to protect Karina and all of our artists.

Thank you.

Karina also issued a personal apology via the fan platform Bubble, writing, “I’m really sorry for making Mys worry… I’ll also try to be more attentive and act more carefully.”

Photo: X