Karina issues apology to aespa fans over actor Lee Jae-wook dating news

Karina from aespa, right, and actor Lee Jae-wook at Prada's 2024 Fall/Winter Men's Collection fashion show in Milan on Jan. 14. [PRADA]

Karina of girl group aespa apologized to her fans in a handwritten letter on her Instagram on Tuesday night.

Last week news broke that she is dating actor Lee Jae-wook, which both celebrities’ agencies confirmed at the time.

“I’m sorry for surprising everyone so much,” the letter begins. “I’m cautious toward MY [the name of aespa’s fandom] that it took me long [to respond to this matter].”

Karina apologized several more times and emphasized that she’s always “felt dearly” of her fans ever since her debut. The letter ends with Karina saying she “won’t do anything to disappoint MY and will be more mature and work harder.”

Reports surfaced on Feb. 27 that Karina and Lee had begun dating after meeting at a fashion show in Milan. Their agencies said that they are in a stage of “getting to know each other.”

After recently dropping its fourth EP "Drama" in November, aespa will kick off its second world tour "Synk: Parallel Line" in June.

Lee debuted in 2018 through tvN drama "Memories of the Alhambra" and has starred in drama television series such as tvN’s "Search WWW" (2019), MBC’s "Extraordinary You" (2019) and tvN’s "Alchemy of Souls" (2022).

To learn more about Karina and Lee Jae-wook, visit Celeb Confirmed!

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]