A complaint was made against 2PM member Hwang Chansung on Wednesday after he tweeted a selfie flashing the peace sign to show that he exercised his right to vote in the June 4 local elections.
The picture showed Hwang holding up a “V” sign above his forehead alongside a caption that read “I voted!”
In response, a member of South Korea’s ultra-right online community “Ilbe” filed a complaint against Hwang with the National Election Commission, insisting that the K-pop idol violated the election law.
A combination of the controverisal photo (left) and its more neutral replacement posted by 2PM’s Hwang Chansung on Twitter Wednesday. (Hwang Chan-sung Twitter)
The complainant claimed that the “V” sign constitutes as an act of expressing his support for a particular candidate, because it could indicate the No. 2, which could have referred to the No. 2 candidate marked on the ballot sheet.
According to the election watchdog, the election law prohibits voters from disclosing which candidate they voted for or against on election day. The law further bans voters from uploading on SNS a selfie of any gesture that could potentially indicate support for a candidate, such as a thumbs-up or peace sign.
Hwang immediately apologized and erased the controversial photo, replacing it instead with a new photo of himself posing with a fist.
“Right, I am not supposed to make a ‘V’ ... I’m sorry,” wrote Hwang on his Twitter. “I hope this (new) one works,” read the post accompanying the new picture.
By Sohn Ji-young (jiyoung.sohn@heraldcorp.com)
