IVE’s Rei Hesitates Over Cute Pose, Fears Political Controversy Despite Election Ending

On June 4, Italian luxury brand Tod’s held its Italian Summer pop-up opening event at The Stage in Shinsegae Department Store Gangnam.

IVE Rei appeared at the event and posed for reporters as they called out, “Look to the left”, “Look to the right”, “Give a hand wave” and “Please do a cheek heart.” She complied cheerfully with all the requests.

However, when a reporter asked “Please do a cheek poke”, Rei began to raise her hand near her cheek but then abruptly stopped, looking startled. She then muttered, “Can I even do this?”

The reporters reassured her, saying, “It’s okay” and “The election is over.” With an awkward smile, Rei finally tapped her cheek lightly with her index finger.

Online users reacted strongly to the moment, saying, “Celebrities must be so exhausted because of all these political fanatics”, “Now even a Japanese idol without voting rights is worried about this?” and “The election is over, but it seems like the company gave them serious media training.”

The nervousness stems from recent political color controversies in K-pop. aespa’s Karina was previously criticized for wearing a red and black jacket with the number “2” printed in red before the presidential election, which some interpreted as showing political bias.

Similarly, ZEROBASEONE’s Kim Taerae deleted a photo where he made a V sign after speculations, and NMIXX’s Sullyoon, during a livestream, visibly adjusted her V pose by raising her fingers individually to avoid any misinterpretation.

Although Rei, being Japanese, does not have voting rights in South Korea, the incident underscores how deeply the fear of political misreading now pervades K-pop culture, making even the simplest fan service moments a potential minefield.