South Korean artist Choi Siwon of the boy band Super Junior faced a torrent of anger and calls for his firing over the weekend after publishing an Instagram story featuring an image mourning American conservative commentator and organizer Charlie Kirk.
Choi reportedly posted an image Kirk accompanied by a cross reading “Rest in Peace, Charlie Kirk,” and a second photo with Kirk’s image carrying the Bible verse, “well done, good and faithful servant.” Multiple reports in South Korean media claimed that Choi later deleted the stories, though it remained unclear as Instagram stories automatically get deleted in 24 hours unless a user specifically chooses to save them.
Multiple reports on Korean pop (K-pop) gossip websites reported on Saturday that Choi later published a message on the social media app “Bubble” allegedly confirming that he deleted the posts in response to abusive leftist messages against him. The alleged text of the message by Choi on the Bubble application, which is promoted as “private” as only those subscribed to celebrities can see the messages, emphasized Kirk’s faith.
“He was a Christian, the head of a household, and a husband. Regardless of the circumstances, the fact that he lost his life in a shooting while giving a lecture in front of countless college students is a heartbreaking tragedy beyond any political stance. That is why I mourned him,” the message allegedly read. “After posting, I was grateful for the media’s attention, but since it seemed that my intentions were being interpreted differently by the press and others, I believed my sincere heart had already been conveyed and thus decided to take the post down.”
While the messages are meant to be limited to fans, an automated account on Twitter that publishes Siwon’s Bubble posts carries the message.
Leftists responded to news of Choi’s mourning statement by flooding social media sites calling for him to be expelled from the band.
Celebrity gossip sites also began circulating a video apparently showing the lead singer of the band, Leeteuk, walking by Choi without greeting him, which angry online users clinged to as evidence that other members of the band were also outraged by Choi’s expression of humanity towards Kirk. Fans also reportedly “noticed that Leeteuk had unfollowed him on Instagram;” Leeteuk is not following Choi at press time, but it is unclear if he was before the incidents in question.
Leeteuk himself faced a similar controversy in May as left-wing online users and alleged Super Junior fans called for his expulsion after the singer allegedly shouted “I love [Donald] Trump!” at a concert in California. Reports fueling speculation that Leeteuk would be offended by a Charlie Kirk tribute have not contextualized the reports with the Trump incident.
Super Junior is one of South Korea’s most popular and longstanding boy bands, making its debut in 2005, and is known for having a large number of members at any given time.
Choi in particular has developed a reputation for being outspoken about his Christian faith, which has in the past triggered similar outrage among leftist fans of the band.
Choi currently boasts 8.7 million followers on his Instagram account. His profile bio reads, “Everything is by the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. • Matthew 25.”
Charlie Kirk was the founder of Turning Point USA, an American advocacy and organizing institution focused on empowering young American conservatives. He was also extremely active internationally and made his last foreign trip to South Korea, where he supported similar conservative youth groups on the group and praised the country for its clean and orderly big cities and its love of America.
“As soon as you walk out of the hotel, there’s no bums, there’s no people asking you for money, they don’t really put up with graffiti at all… I walked 6 miles all the way throughout downtown Seoul, South Korea,” Kirk said during one the final episodes of the Charlie Kirk Show. “They take pride and responsibility over their public spaces… the amount of filth, crime, and violence that we put up with is insane.”
Kirk was assassinated on camera during an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. Kirk was on campus as part of a national Turning Point USA tour in which he encouraged left-wing students to approach him and debate his ideas. Kirk was a champion of civil debate and enthusiastically called for more civil exchanges of political ideas in the United States. He was 31 years old and is survived by his wife, Erika, and two children.
Law enforcement officials have identified 22-year-old Tyler Robinson as Kirk’s assassin. Multiple reports indicated this week that Robinson held extreme leftist views and was engaged in a romantic relationship with a self-described transgender person at the time of the killing. Kirk promoted body positivity on the issue of transgenderism, encouraging those considering chemical and surgical alterations to their body to embrace self-love and accept their natural selves. He was in the process of answering a question about transgender violence when he was shot
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