ENHYPEN’s Jungwon Faces Criticism Over Election-Related Activity 

The recent presidential election in Korea has remained a topic of discussion even among those who are not necessarily involved in politics.

Lee Jae Myung, the man who went viral during former President Yoon Suk Yeol‘s martial law declaration for climbing over a fence to reach parliament, was recently named the victor.

Lee Jae Myung | Reuters

The election process even impacted K-Pop, as seen in the case of aespa‘s Karina.

On May 26, Karina took to Instagram to share several photos of herself wearing a red jacket with the number “2” written on it. She captioned the post with a simple rose emoji. While all these details seemed harmless initially, they are used as symbols by Korea’s right-wing party.

aespa’s Karina |@katarinabluu/Instagram

Due to their influence, idols take care not to wear items or show symbols that could represent either party during the elections. As a result, some have quickly put down peace signs or done other things to negate whichever symbol was shown.

This includes how ENHYPEN‘s Jungwon went live with a black and white filter, likely due to either wearing red or blue, the colors of the two parties.

i find jungwon's habit of always sending a flying kiss at the end of his lives cute 😭 pic.twitter.com/HCjaDXDTPH

— jacko 𖤐 (@jayhoonvampz) June 2, 2025

While preventative measures have been praised in the past, Jungwon was criticized over the move. Some questioned why idols didn’t wear colors besides red and blue during election season if they are aware of the implications, while others accused Jungwon of wanting a “viral moment.”

no shade but why are these idols acting like someone is holding them at gunpoint to wear blue and red during the elections? like so many other colors exist are they stupid https://t.co/hp2vfMvCMX

— ⭐️ (@njpinkz) June 2, 2025

He wants his Wonyoung moment so bad Im ctfuuu who’s gonna tell him he’s too irrelevant to go viral 🥴🥴 https://t.co/7ziTTE2q30

— jia (@kebabjiaa) June 2, 2025

his untalented ass craving attention with anything https://t.co/0UchsiESbR

— Khiaender (@Khiaender2000) June 2, 2025

Many came to his defense, offering that it was not wrong for him to be cautious considering how certain things could be interpreted.

“he wants a viral moment” god forbid an idol wants to go live and communicate with his fans while being socially aware of the situation in his country yall in the quotes wants to hate just to hate lmao😭 https://t.co/2UZkJLp4hG

— ㅌㅌ (@tatiw0n) June 2, 2025

forbid an idol to be cautious of his actions. there’s nothing wrong with what he did. it’s not his fault that he’s smart enough to avoid any issues. leave jungwon alone you dumb fucks https://t.co/8x3AMgIvFx

— kye ◜◡◝ (@akyezy) June 2, 2025

Please don't speak politics for other countries, you don't know anything.

He does that to avoid drama and not being an attention. He does that for himself, it's not for you. It's his reputation & mental health he need to take care of , not yours.

Mind your idol's business. https://t.co/99xQP6RvHw

— kittyy.jw🐈 (@Cloudblueskycat) June 3, 2025

Now that the election has ended, idols should be able to wear colors without any assumptions being made.