aespa's Karina under fire in South Korea — SM Entertainment, fans blamed for dragging HYBE artists into controversy
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.
Swift backlash and late apology
The post was taken down within hours, but not before it drew sharp criticism. Karina was accused of subtly endorsing a political figure—something 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.
Follower drop sparks more debate
In the aftermath, Karina's Instagram followers dropped from 24 million to 23.8 million—a 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.
Damage control: SM Entertainment's media play and fan response
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—despite offering no substantial updates. Fans noted the suspicious timing, suggesting these articles were resurfaced deliberately to shift focus away from Karina.
huh?? 😲https://t.co/SClD7UnMYS
the minute sm's golden girl's in hot water, suddenly chaewon's pic is front and center in an article that's not even about her. and they're digging up stuff that's been public for ages. like be serious. do they think we're that dumb to not know this is contrived
The Financial Supervisory Service has stated that recent reports alleging fraudulent transactions by Bang Si-Hyuk are unfounded and confirmed that no such investigation is underway.https://t.co/3fNGgLBJYE pic.twitter.com/KyGeuaFkq1
Meanwhile, aespa's fans—known as MYs—rallied on X (formerly Twitter), launching a campaign highlighting other idols who have also used the peace sign, arguing that similar gestures had gone uncriticized.
Karina posting in support of a conservative party in korea and the members of the party showing support to aespa in return. Ntm aespa fans sold out the jacket. Karina and her fans both dumb and stupid as fuck https://t.co/GJsTr7X4yW pic.twitter.com/JWUNKywXUq
However, fans of HYBE artists responded strongly, accusing MYs of spreading "false equivalencies." They insisted Karina's apology should have been posted on Instagram—where the controversy originated—rather 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.
Bye she wrote better apology for dating then for showing she support far-right wing 💀I know what you are Karina
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.
For all the latest K-drama, K-pop, and Hallyuwood updates, keep following our coverage here.
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