aespa member KARINA has clarified misunderstandings regarding her alleged political stance.
On the 28th, her agency SM Entertainment stated, "We apologize for any concern caused by our artist KARINA's post. KARINA simply shared a routine post on social media without any other purpose or intention, and promptly deleted the post upon realizing it could be misconstrued."
The agency added, "We will pay more attention and make efforts to prevent such incidents in the future. We hope that our artist's intentions are not distorted or consumed with specific intentions, and we will do our best to protect all of our artists, including KARINA."
KARINA had posted a photo of herself wearing a red windbreaker with the number 2 on it to Instagram, which she quickly removed after speculation about its political implications arose.
Netizens speculated that KARINA was showing support for Kim Moon-soo, the People Power Party's presidential candidate in the upcoming "Rose" Election, based on her outfit.
In response, Lee Soo-jung, the People Power Party's Suwon Jung District Committee Chairperson, shared KARINA's social media photo on her Facebook on the 28th with the caption, "Touch KARINA and you're all dead."
She further commented, "The hypocrisy of those spinning this doesn't deserve attention. Let's overcome the severe secondary victimization and harassment," thereby fueling speculation.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)