Karina sparks political debate over social media post

Karina of K-pop girl group aespa was in a political controversy over a social media post featuring her in a jacket with a big, bold red number “two” on the front.

The artist quickly deleted the photo after it sparked debate Tuesday over whether it was intended to signal her support for a specific candidate ahead of the June 3 presidential election.

In South Korea, the color red is most often linked to the conservative People Power Party and its candidate Kim Moon-soo is running as number 2 in the election.

On Wednesday, her agency, SM Entertainment, released a statement explaining that she had simply intended to share a moment from her everyday life with fans “without any particular purpose or intention.”

Karina had uploaded the photo, presumed to have been taken in Japan, to Instagram on Tuesday night. In the picture, she was wearing a black and red mixed jacket and looking straight ahead.

However, the image ignited a debate among politicians, with some questioning whether it signaled her support for a particular political party or its presidential candidate, given the prominent red number “two” on her jacket.

The timing of the photo’s upload further fueled the speculation, as it coincided with the final TV debate among presidential candidates.

The photo is no longer available on Instagram, as Karina deleted it shortly after the controversy emerged.

SM Entertainment apologized for causing public concern over the post.

“Karina simply posted an everyday moment on social media and had no other purpose or intention whatsoever,” SM explained in the statement. “She immediately deleted the post upon realizing the potential for misunderstanding. We sincerely apologize for unintentionally causing public concern.”

The agency added that it would exercise greater caution to prevent any recurrence of such an incident.