"She doesn't deserve this" — Fans react as aespa's Karina reportedly loses over 400k Instagram followers amid political controversy
aespa's Karina has reportedly seen a decrease in her Instagram followers following the political scandal related to the 2025 presidential election. On May 27, 2025, the South Korean singer updated her Instagram page with a new set of photos where she was seen posing on the streets.
However, the images sparked public outrage due to her choice of outfits. Karina wore a black and red jacket, which also featured the number 2. Netizens interpreted the number and the color red as identification and representation of a specific political party, according to reports.
Netizens accused the K-pop idol of supporting and encouraging her followers to vote for the party ahead of the election. They expressed discomfort with the photos and symbols. In response to the growing concerns online, the 25-year-old idol removed the photos.
The Supernova singer addressed the issue on the Bubble app with an apology, and her agency also issued a statement. Consequently, the aespa leader lost around 400,000 followers on Instagram, according to reports.
After fans learned about Karina's recent follower count, they took to X to express their support for her. Meanwhile, some fans speculate that she had been losing followers even before the incident and that it was not related to the political scandal.
A fan on X said,
"Toxic fandom aside she doesn't deserve this like she literally made a mistake and stupid one but she apologized," a fan said.
"I'm dead. They really mad at her for wearing a shirt. Like bruh. Her outfit called for a red shirt. That color looks mad good on her," a user wrote.
"the girl didn't do anything wrong. Knets should stop putting her on a pedestal like this," a netizen reacted.
Fans further mentioned that the follower count discussion on the aespa member's Instagram page is not crucial in this case.
"They're acting like that's a big change," a fan stated.
"Her instagram was shadowbanned and that was a few days ago before that post, stop lying just for engagement you idiot," a user stated.
"And this is a gotcha how? I thought insta followers didn't mattered?" a netizen mentioned.
aespa's Karina apologizes for the election controversy while SM Entertainment issues an official statement
According to Joongang Daily, on May 28, 2025, Karina logged in on the private app Bubble, known for idol-fan communication, to open up about the incident. She said,
“That wasn’t my intention at all, but the misunderstanding has continued to grow, and I’m very worried, so I think I need to talk to you directly. I will also pay more attention and be more careful in the future. I’m sorry for worrying you again.”
SM Entertainment also issued a statement apologizing for the aespa member's actions. They explained that there was no other intent but to share daily updates with fans.
“We apologize for causing concern with our artist KARINA’s post. KARINA only posted everyday content on SNS, with no other purpose or intention, and immediately deleted the post after realizing that it could be misunderstood. We sincerely apologize for any unintentional concern," the agency said.
In other news, aespa is gearing up for their comeback with another single album named Dirty Work. On June 6, 2025, SM Entertainment dropped the teaser for the upcoming song. The single album will have Dirty Work as the titular tune, an English version of the same, and the instrumental track. Dirty Work is set to be released on June 27, 2025.
