Super Junior Choi Si-won cheered on a protest at Jamsil Olympic Park demanding a re-election.
On the 22nd, Choi Si-won sent three Taegeukgi flag emojis to a post in which he uploaded a video of the Olympic Park protest through his social account.
He also said, "Raising trust in elections is not for one side only regardless of party, but for the whole of Korean democracy," and said, "to raise the people's trust in elections and ensure that each citizen's precious vote is accurately reflected, all election procedures must be managed transparently and thoroughly."
He went on to say, "Those who are raising their voices at the site despite the rainy, foul weather are citizens striving to protect Korea's democracy and the value of each precious vote," and stated, "I hope that these people's sincerity and efforts are not judged by a specific word or frame or belittled lightly in any situation."
Earlier this month, Choi Si-won uploaded and then deleted a photo of the night view of Lotte World Tower in Jamsil with the Taegeukgi included. This led to reactions suggesting that Choi Si-won might be supporting the 're-election' demand protest held at Olympic Park. Amid this, Choi Si-won has drawn attention by directly showing his support.
In particular, in response to a comment saying "I am deeply worried about the country," Choi Si-won replied, "I too am deeply worried and praying for our country," and in response to a supportive comment calling him a "anti-communist patriot," he replied, "I will do my best to return home in glory." However, to a comment supporting his entry into politics that began, "In two years in the Jamsil district...," he responded, "You flatter me. I do not have that qualification."
Meanwhile, last September Choi Si-won posted a tribute to Charlie Kirk and was engulfed in controversy over political coloring because Charlie Kirk has been a close associate of former U.S. President Donald Trump and a prominent U.S. far-right political commentator. In addition, because Charlie Kirk had been controversial for anti-LGBTQ remarks and racist statements, criticism poured in toward Choi Si-won, and Choi Si-won deleted the post and explained that there was no political intent, saying, "The loss of life from a shooting during a lecture in front of many college students is a heartbreaking tragedy beyond political leanings," and "I judged that my insufficient feelings would have been conveyed and removed the post because it seemed to be interpreted by the media and others differently from my intentions."
After that, when former President Yoon Suk-yeol was sentenced to life imprisonment last February, the fact that Choi Si-won left a four-character idiom reading "불의필망, 토붕와해" also sparked debate over whether it was a political move. Eventually, his agency SM Entertainment recently filed a lawsuit seeking damages for defamation and insult against 10 netizens who wrote excessive malicious comments. The agency said, "Malicious posts such as personal attacks and insults toward our artist were confirmed to be persistent and repeated," and added, "Based on materials secured through our own monitoring, we filed a complaint with investigative authorities together with the law firm Sejong."
[photo] OSEN DB
[OSEN]