The fandom of Karina, a member of the girl group aespa, publicly protested against Lee Jun-seok, a candidate from the Reform Party.
On the 29th, a statement from Karina's fans was posted on an online community.
The fans expressed their "deep concern regarding the article link shared by the candidate on his social media," stating, "The article exposes the victim's real name, photo, and sexually harassing expressions in the title and image. This has resulted in secondary harm that damages the victim's honor."
Candidate Lee Jun-seok recently became embroiled in controversy over misogyny during a TV debate. He later explained his position by posting an article mentioning Karina on his social media. The article was titled "Lee Jae-myung's Son Commented on Karina's Photo," which used a photo of Karina. The media outlet has since revised both the article title and thumbnail image.
Karina's fandom pointed out, "The article has now been corrected in title and image, and there are sufficient alternative articles that do not include the victim's real name," adding, "Nevertheless, the candidate continues to post the link to the initial version. This contradicts the candidate's position and results in repeated damage to the victim's honor."
They continued, "We respectfully request that the candidate either modify the link and preview of the post or replace it in a way that does not expose the victim's photo and real name," adding, "We do not wish for any blame or political disputes against the victim."
In response, the candidate held an emergency press conference at the National Assembly that morning, stating, "The exposure of the photo was due to the preview function of media like Facebook, and it does not reflect my intention. It is unfortunate if others are harmed."
[Kim So-yeon, Star Today Reporter]
