As the victory of Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party candidate, became certain in the 21st presidential election, reactions in the entertainment industry were mixed.
Singer Lee Seung-hwan captured the broadcast screen showing the exit poll results on the evening of the 3rd and posted it, writing, "From regression to progress."
He has publicly expressed his political views, urging the impeachment of former President Yoon Seok-yeol up until recently, and wrote, "I saw the members of the 'People Power' party proudly admitting to being accomplices in a rebellion. Isn't it nice? You must be proud and pleased with your power to immediately disregard the will of nearly 80% of democratic citizens who want the president impeached?"
He continued, "You are not afraid of being historical criminals, and you seem to think that the current power is more important, even if people are dying and the livelihood is in turmoil. How could it be otherwise?" He added, "To the members of the 'People Power' party who reign above the people, thank you for your hard work in carrying the 'will of the people' and 'the people's perspective.' The democratic citizens of our Republic of Korea will stay up all night to see the dawn of a new morning."
Earlier, on the 29th of last month, during the early voting period, Lee Seung-hwan posted a photo of himself wearing a blue hat and shirt while holding a paper that said "Voting Completed," stating, "I woke up earlier than usual. My heart was fluttering with the thought of electing capable workers who will cultivate peace and revive the economy."
On the other hand, JK Kim Dong-wook did not express any position when the exit polls were released, but when the broadcast's vote prediction program announced "Lee Jae-myung's victory is certain" around 11 PM, he revealed his mixed feelings.
He posted on his SNS, "In the end, it leads to the result where I have to include songs that shouldn't be included," and added, "Perhaps this anxiety naturally led me to write such songs. It seems that there will be more times to sing about the world we shouldn't experience rather than love songs. Good night ♥." He also posted an additional message saying, "How does it feel."
Earlier that day, JK Kim Dong-wook encouraged voting in the presidential election by saying, "Good morning. Time to save the country together."
Born in 1957, JK Kim Dong-wook is a Korean-Canadian who immigrated to Canada after dropping out of high school in the second year. He obtained Canadian citizenship, was exempted from military service, and does not have voting rights in Korea, yet he has raised his voice on Korean political issues.
During this election period, he publicly supported the People Power candidate Kim Moon-soo, saying, "No matter how you look at it, this president is definitely Kim Moon-soo."
Moreover, he left a critical post saying, "I have nothing to showcase as a musician... In this situation where the whole country is shedding blood, sweat, and tears due to wildfires, I am at a loss for words seeing politicians going to take photos or singers singing at candlelight vigils." The "singer senior" he mentioned is speculated to be Lee Seung-hwan, which became a hot topic online at the time.
