Yoon supporters boycott brands advertised by IU over pro-impeachment stance

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Published: 18 Dec. 2024, 14:30 Updated: 18 Dec. 2024, 15:46

LEE JIAN
[email protected]

Singer IU performs ″Dear Name″ (2017) during the Melon Music Awards at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Guro District, western Seoul, on Dec. 2, 2017. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Advocates of Korea's far right are boycotting singer IU for expressing support for President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment.

The artist had prepaid for food at restaurants and cafes near the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, for fans who participated in Saturday's rally to impeach the president. Two hundred packets of bread, 200 cups of coffee or drink, 100 packets of tteok (rice cakes) and 200 bowls of gukbap (rice in soup) were set for pickup by the singer's agency, EDAM Entertainment.

Since then, Yoon supporters have taken to the internet to state that they will no longer be purchasing products advertised by IU. She is the face of companies such as Hite Jinro, Pepsi and Woori Bank.

On one right-wing online community, People's Power, a writer allegedly reported IU to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on Monday and encouraged others to report the artist to the U.S. agency as well.

The act appears to be based on unverified claims that reporting individuals to the CIA as "anti-America" will permanently ban them and their children from entering the United States.

The post was deleted a day later.

IU is one of the few well-known celebrities who publicly expressed their stance on the recent political turmoil stemming from Yoon's declaration of martial law on Dec. 3.

The motion to impeach Yoon passed in parliament on Saturday and now awaits approval from the Constitutional Court.

BY LEE JIAN [[email protected]]