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Rapper Lee Young-ji becomes latest idol to be accused of swaying voters during election season

Published: 02 Jun. 2026, 18:41

CHO YONG-JUN
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From left: Rapper Lee Young-ji's now-deleted Instagram story, in which she has red hair and wears a red shirt, and her apology post uploaded on May 31, for which the rapper redyed her hair black [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Wearing a red jacket. Flashing a peace sign. Writing the number 2. Or posting a picture of a bowl of tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes). Usually, none of these actions hold any significance, but during election season, any one of them can get a K-pop idol accused of trying to sway voters.

The most recent case involves rapper Lee Young-ji, who posted photos of her freshly dyed red hair and of herself wearing a red top on her Instagram Story on Saturday — during the early voting period — with boy band Cortis's song “Red Red” playing in the background.

In Korea, red is linked to the conservative People Power Party (PPP), the main opposition party, while blue is associated with the ruling Democratic Party.

Following criticism, Lee removed the photos and apologized the next day in another Instagram Story, which showed that she had dyed her hair black.

“People must have been quite surprised by the ill-timed Story that I uploaded yesterday,” Lee wrote. “Many [messaged me] to let me know [how my post could be viewed], and I felt so sorry that I rushed to at least redye my hair to fix this.”

Similarly, girl group aespa's Karina also came under heavy fire last year for wearing a black-and-red jacket featuring the number 2 on its side — all elements allegedly representing the PPP.

Rescene's Minami, right, shouting, ″Geoje yahoo,″ next to Woni on a YouTube video [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Another girl group, Rescene, is known for flashing the "Gyaru" peace sign, or an upside-down peace sign, named after the Japanese fashion subculture. However, when fans recently asked member Minami to do the gesture for them, she declined their request, presumably due to its possible political implications and the fact that it is currently election season. Other members have also refrained from making the sign.

Veteran singer Lee Seung-hwan was also criticized for posting a photo of himself wearing a bright red shirt after voting early — a confusing image, as Lee was considered an anti-PPP celebrity, heavily supporting the impeachment of the PPP-born President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Singer Lee Seung-hwan's Instagram post shows him dressed in a red shirt. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Celebrities are not legally banned from publicly expressing their political views. Only public officials, civil servants and foreign nationals without voting rights are barred from being politically vocal.

However, celebrities who choose to speak out risk losing hundreds of fans and receiving hate from those who support the opposition.

BY CHO YONG-JUN [[email protected]]