Aespa's Karina made a slip of the tongue while giving her acceptance speech, causing laughter to erupt.
On the afternoon of the 28th, the 2nd Asian Star Entertainer Awards 2025 (ASEA 2025) ceremony was held at the K-Arena in Yokohama, Japan. The event was hosted by The Boyz's Juyeon and IVE's Leeseo.
That day, Aespa was named the recipient of the Platinum Award and took to the stage.
Standing in front of the microphone, Karina said, "I am receiving such a meaningful award and I am very grateful to the fans. We worked hard to release albums last year, and I hope you look forward to our return with a great album this year." Meanwhile, she incorrectly referred to the group's name as 'aespo,' making everyone laugh.
Having burst into laughter, Karina covered her mouth with her hand and could not continue her remarks, while Winter, who took over, also said, "I look forward to Aespa, a lot.... Thank you." The two tried to stop laughing by hugging each other, but it wasn't easy. Eventually, Ningning stepped in and concluded her remarks by saying, "Please give Aespa a lot of love in the future, and arigato gozaimasu."
Meanwhile, Karina, who was embroiled in political controversy, displayed a bright demeanor throughout the ceremony.
Recently, Karina sparked an unexpected political controversy with a casual photo taken in Japan. She wore a jumper with the red number '2' printed on it and posted a rose emoji along with it, which led some to raise suspicions of supporting a specific political party. As the controversy grew, Karina deleted the photo, but even the spokesperson of the People Power Party mentioned 'Aespa's shoutout' on social media, indicating the political domain was involved and the ripple effects spread.
Subsequently, SM Entertainment clarified, "Karina posted routine content on social media with no other intentions or objectives, and after recognizing the possibility of misunderstanding, she deleted the post immediately. We sincerely apologize for any distress this has inadvertently caused. We will make greater efforts to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future. We hope that the artists' intentions are not misrepresented or consumed for specific purposes, and we will do our utmost to protect all our artists, including Karina."
[Photo] Captured from NaverTV live broadcast.
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