Karina, the leader of Aespa, has found herself at the center of a political controversy after posting a photo on her Instagram earlier this week.
On Tuesday, Karina shared an image taken on a street in Japan, paired with a flower emoji. In the photo, she playfully hides her face with her jumper, wearing a mischievous expression.
The controversy began over her choice of clothing. The jumper she was wearing featured a bold red diagonal stripe and the number 2 embroidered on it.
This led to widespread speculation among netizens that Karina might be signaling support for a particular political candidate. The red color is closely associated with South Korea’s People Power Party (PPP), while the number 2 is the ballot number of presidential candidate Kim Moon Soo.
As the backlash grew, Karina quickly deleted the post from her Instagram account.
In response, Lee Soo Jung, co-chair of the People Power Party in Suwon, took to Facebook on Wednesday to address the controversy. “The attacks from critics aren’t worth our attention. While the secondary harm is serious, we’ll overcome it,” Lee wrote.
She also posted Karina’s photo with a bold and confrontational hashtag: “If you come after Karina, you’re all done.”
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