Lee Youngji’s Apology Sparks Brutal Comparison To aespa Karina’s Past “Right Wing Goddess” Scandal
Rapper-turned-TV star Lee Youngji’s recent apology over her unexpectedly political Instagram update has sparked a new debate online, with many netizens comparing her response to aespa Karina’s past “Right Wing Goddess” controversy.
Recently, Lee Youngji came under fire after posting photos of herself with newly dyed red hair. She also used CORTIS’s “REDRED” as the background music and shared photos of herself wearing red, leading some netizens to question the timing of the posts ahead of South Korea’s June 3, 2026 elections.
The speculation quickly grew into a political controversy, as red is often associated with a specific political party in South Korea. Youngji later returned to Instagram with her hair dyed black and issued a direct apology, saying she had acted carelessly despite knowing it was an important period. She also explained that she had rushed to dye her hair again after receiving messages from fans.
The apology quickly became a hot topic on Korean online communities, where many netizens brought up Karina’s previous controversy.
In 2025, Karina faced similar backlash after posting photos that included a red rose emoji, a red top, and the number “2” ahead of the presidential election. At the time, some netizens interpreted the combination as a possible political signal, eventually leading to the idol being mockingly labeled a “Right Wing Goddess” by some online users.
“Right-Wing Goddess” — aespa Karina’s Influence Following Controversial Post Sparks Online Frenzy
Karina later clarified that she had no such intention and apologized, saying she would be more careful moving forward.
With Youngji now facing criticism over the color red as well, some netizens argued that the two situations were different. Several felt Youngji responded more quickly and directly by apologizing and changing her hair color almost immediately. “Karina and Youngji handled it totally differently,” one netizen wrote.
- There was also a video of her doing a V sign, so when I connected everything together, I did think, “Wait, really?”
- What is this, communism or something?
- What was the problem? Was it because it’s election season and she had red clothes and red hair?
- People are making a fuss again without even knowing the full context. Seriously, calm down.
- What I’m curious about is, Karina got criticized, but they’re saying Youngji shouldn’t be criticized? Then do they want Youngji to be criticized too? Instead of saying, “Stop policing people over hair color and outfits,” are they saying, “Why aren’t you policing this person too?”
- Karina is a right-wing goddess, remember? LMAO. This is hilarious.
- What important period? Is it the election? Seriously, stop making a fuss.
- Now they’re picking fights over hair dye too? They’re so obsessed with politics that they’re attacking ordinary people’s daily lives now.
However, many others strongly pushed back against the comparison, saying both celebrities had been unfairly dragged into political speculation over ordinary social media posts. “What do people gain from attacking celebrities every time they wear red? Just leave them alone,” some snapped. Some also criticized the continued fixation on Karina, pointing out that she had already apologized and denied having political intent.
- Seriously, people need to stop this nonsense. There are so many more important things, yet they’re sitting around policing celebrities’ selfies, LOL.
- Karina and Youngji both have agency. You know it’s not normal to drag people just because a color seems connected to something, right? Stop it already, you crazy people.
- Wow, even getting her hair dyed is a waste. Seriously, stop overreacting.
- I feel bad for them because of people obsessed with politics.
- I already felt so bad for Karina back then, but seeing people still say “Karina was different” makes me feel even worse for her, LOL. Youngji must have been so shocked too. I hope people stop policing celebrities’ photos.
- No, it’s just too funny, LOL. What happened, Youngji?! LOL. I hope she can laugh and talk about this with us later.
- Seriously, people obsessed with politics need to stop. If it had been blue, would they have made the same fuss?
- I remember when Karina apologized back then, people attacked anyone who told them to stop. LOL. The people still saying “Karina was different” are really pathetic. What a life.
As the debate continued, many netizens expressed frustration over how colors, numbers, emojis, and even hair choices have become sources of controversy during election periods.
While some argued that public figures should be extra careful during politically sensitive times, others felt the backlash had gone too far, especially when neither Youngji nor Karina had publicly endorsed any party or candidate.
- What exactly do people gain from dragging celebrities every time they wear red? Please just leave them alone.
- Just ban politicians from using colors. Seriously, this is ridiculous.
- This is so extra. Even as someone who strongly supports the other side, I still think this is over the top.
- Seriously, they can’t even dye their hair comfortably, make a V sign, or do anything anymore. There are too many people looking at everything through a political lens. Red hair dye is more common than blue too, yet they’re making people suffer over it.
- Ugh, LOL. I feel so bad for both Karina and Youngji for getting caught by ridiculous people and still being dragged over this. How is this any different from those forced finger-symbol controversies? They just want to attack people, so they assign meaning to meaningless things and make a huge issue out of it, LOL.
- Making a fuss over colors is so tiring. Stop making assumptions. They probably wore it because it looked good. If we go by that logic, what colors are people even allowed to use? Red, blue, yellow, orange, and everything else?
- But I remember Karina playing mind games with the public for a while, LOL. When there was no explanation, I thought, “So it must be true,” LOL.
- Youngji dyeing her hair back to black is funny but also not funny, LOL.
- Ugh, her covering her hair color is cute but also sad, LOL.
Read more about how K-Pop idols navigate election season due to such controversies:
K-Pop Idols Caught Avoiding Political Controversy Amid Election Season Buzz
