IDID Kim Min-jae ‘Ilbe controversy’ spreads... Agency says it was a simple mistake

Is it a swamp of speculation—or a fatal blunder?... Newcomer ‘IDID’ ‘Kim Min-jae’ breaks through the ‘Ilbe’ frame head-on

A rookie group that just stepped into the K-pop scene, ‘IDID’ (IDID), ran into an unexpected, rough obstacle as key member ‘Kim Min-jae’ faced a wave of accusations. Amid claims of malicious allegations connected to the far-right online community ‘Ilgan Best’ (hereinafter ‘Ilbe’), the agency moved decisively to deny them, calling the claims “completely unfounded.”

An ‘vlog’ flipped upside down—and 19:00... A lapse at the moment that sparked misunderstanding

The controversy ignited on the 17th. The issue began with a ‘vlog’ video that ‘Kim Min-jae’ uploaded on the daily-sharing app ‘Setlog’ to communicate with fans. The video was streamed with the top and bottom flipped, and on one side of the screen, the caption ‘19:00,’ indicating 7 p.m., was clearly displayed. On top of that, the suspicion snowballed after he carelessly exclaimed the interjection “Story!” on the fan communication platform ‘Beleez’.

Some sharp-edged netizens argued that the peculiar way the video was produced—combined with certain words—closely lined up with a malicious meme used within ‘Ilbe’ to mock former President Roh Moo-hyun, and they poured out harsh criticism.

“0% impure intent”... Starship Entertainment stands firm with a fact check

Recognizing the seriousness of the situation, the agency ‘Starship Entertainment’ moved immediately. In an official statement, it said, “The specific allegation currently sweeping across the online world is 100% false, and there was not even the slightest impure intent toward the artist.” It put up a strong wall of defense.

The truth the agency laid out was as simple as it was mundane. The ‘vlog’ controversy, it said, was a cute rookie mistake stemming from being unfamiliar with camera handling—flipping the video. ‘Starship Entertainment’ explained, “‘Kim Min-jae’ only confused the direction of unfamiliar filming equipment and recorded the video upside down,” adding, “During the editing process, the caption was also inserted upside down as a result of trying to maintain the original video’s overall tone.” It also clarified that the disputed ‘19:00’ label was simply the fact itself: the exact time when the actual stage schedule ended.

The tragedy brought by a simple exclamation... “We will restore trust through microscopic checks”

The agency also continued its explanation about the exclamation used on the fan platform ‘Beleez’. It said, “It was just a universally common exclamation that anyone uses in everyday life. The artist had no idea that the word was being misused in such an impure way in a particular community.”

In the end, the incident appears to be closing as the product of a massive misunderstanding created by a momentary mistake and coincidence. ‘Starship Entertainment’ said, “Both ‘Kim Min-jae’ and the artist sincerely reflect and are sorry for worrying the public unintentionally,” and it added, “Going forward, we will operate a thorough internal quality-check system that applies a microscopic standard to every step of the production and release process, and we will make every effort to ensure this kind of wasteful controversy does not happen again.”