SEOUL, June 1 — South Korea’s entertainment industry has entered a peculiar season of self-censorship. As the country gears up for major elections, K-pop stars and celebrities find themselves navigating a minefield where seemingly innocent choices—from a hair color to a hand gesture—can be perceived as political statements.
The latest controversy to engulf the industry unfolded in the final days of May 2026, just ahead of the June 3 local elections.
On May 30, popular rapper and entertainer Lee Young-ji made an innocent post on her Instagram story: “Isn’t the hair color pretty?” accompanying a selfie of her freshly dyed red locks. A follow-up photo showed her paired the new hair with a matching red T-shirt. The timing, however, proved disastrous.
The post triggered immediate backlash on Korean online communities. Critics pointed out that repeatedly exposing a color associated with a specific political party during the early voting period was highly inappropriate. Adding to the fuel, Lee’s post featured the song “REDRED” as background music.
What happened next became the story. Within 24 hours, Lee Young-ji had not only deleted the controversial post but also rushed to dye her hair back to black. On May 31, she issued a lengthy apology alongside a new photo showing her black hair.
“I must have startled many of you by posting such an untimely story,” she wrote, explaining she received many direct messages from people concerned. “So many people DM’d me about it that I felt sorry and wanted to remedy the situation as quickly as possible, so I rushed to dye my hair. … Even though I was well aware that this is an important time, my desire to communicate came first”. She concluded: “I won’t hide behind the cowardly excuse of ignorance; I will reflect and learn from this”.
Lee Young-ji’s experience is far from an isolated incident. During election season, the colors red and blue have become a de facto “traffic light” in the entertainment world.
Red: Off-limits, as it is the official color of the conservative People Power Party (PPP). During the early voting period, wearing red clothing or dyeing hair red can be interpreted as showing support for the party.
Blue: Also banned, as it is the color of the main liberal opposition, the **Democratic Party of Korea (DPK)**.
Yellow and green: Also associated with minor political parties like the Green Justice Party.
The scrutiny doesn’t stop at colors. Hand gestures, emojis, and even numbers have become potential traps. During the recent election period, a female idol from the group ODD YOUTH accidentally flashed a “V” hand sign during a live broadcast and was instantly horrified, frantically signing numbers one through five to prove her neutrality. The “V” sign, also called the “peace” sign, can be seen as a reference to candidate numbers on the ballot.
Perhaps the most infamous example of the phenomenon occurred in May 2025, as the country prepared for a presidential election. Karina, the leader of the popular girl group aespa, posted a seemingly innocent casual photo on Instagram. The image showed her wearing a black jacket adorned with a red pattern and the visible number “2,” accompanied by a simple red rose emoji.
She was quickly labeled “conservative Karina” and “No. 2 voter Karina” by critics. Her agency, SM Entertainment, issued an apology, stating she had “absolutely no other intention or purpose”. Months later, a visibly shaken Karina offered an emotional apology on a YouTube show, revealing her guilt over how the scandal had affected her aespa members.
This controversy gave a name to an unspoken rule in K-pop: the “no color, no gesture” guideline during elections.
The mounting scrutiny has forced idols to evolve. With each election, a new “political survival guide” emerges, and the strategies are increasingly creative.
Some idols have taken to posting black-and-white photos to preemptively neutralize any color-related controversy, a trend that has been praised as “socially aware”. Others have abandoned the “V” sign altogether, replacing it with casual hand waves or even clenched fists as a greeting. The extreme caution was demonstrated by the group B1A4, who during a recent live broadcast, chose to film the entire session using a black-and-white filter to completely eliminate the risk of any color being misinterpreted.
While the entertainment industry rushes to adopt these precautionary measures, a parallel debate has ignited online. Some observers argue that the scrutiny has crossed the line into unreasonable overreaction. They point out that unless a celebrity explicitly expresses support for a specific candidate or political party, it is unfair to infer political intentions solely based on colors or outfits. Others counter that celebrities, as public figures, have a responsibility to remain neutral and avoid controversy.
As the June 3 election approaches, the spotlight remains on every move, post, and selfie. For Korea’s celebrities, the simplest acts of sharing daily life have become a tightrope walk, where the line between personal expression and political statement grows increasingly blurred.
