IU's SNS flooded with protest comments

The shortage of ballots in the June 3 local elections has led to some celebrities' social media accounts becoming targets of comment terrorism by protesters demanding a rerun of the election due to alleged fraud. Protesters in the Jamsil area are demanding that stars pre-pay for support for their demonstrations, a move criticized as forcing political views onto celebrities.

Comments such as "Please pre-pay at Starbucks for the Jamsil rally participants," "You supported us in the past, why are you silent this time?", and "You'll send coffee trucks for the people fighting for their rights, right?" are flooding the social media accounts of famous celebrities like singer IU and actors Lee Dong-wook and Yuri of Girls' Generation.

This is based on a past precedent where IU pre-paid for food and drinks at nearby stores for rally participants during the impeachment protests of former President Yoon Suk-yeol in December 2024. At the time, IU's agency stated that they prepared food and hot packs with the hope that fans would stay warm. Lee Dong-wook and Yuri also indirectly mentioned fans participating in rallies or pre-paid at stores to show their support.

Some netizens are arguing that based on these past good deeds, celebrities should provide similar support for the current protest against the ballot shortage. However, counterarguments suggest that past good deeds do not create an obligation to support all future social and political issues. Donations or pre-payments are voluntary acts based on individual values and judgment, and criticizing someone for not acting the same way in a different situation simply because they acted generously in one instance is far from the attitude of mature democratic citizens.

On June 3, during the main voting for the 9th National Simultaneous Local Elections, voters had to wait due to a shortage of ballots at some polling stations in Gangnam-gu, Gwangjin-gu, and Songpa-gu, Seoul. At polling station 2 in Jamsil 7-dong, Songpa-gu, two ballot boxes were removed 35 hours after the polls closed, as protesters demanding the suspension of vote counting and a rerun of the election blocked the entrance to the polling station.