Korean celebrities, among 44 million eligible voters, cast their ballots in the nation’s 21st presidential election on Tuesday, with a strict dress code — as achromatic as possible.

While encouraging fans to join them in voting, stars maintained a notably subdued tone and manner, treading carefully to avoid any speculation of political affiliation amid heightened online scrutiny.


Boy band Ateez leader Hongjoong shared a selfie of himself and his bandmate Seonghwa on his personal Instagram on Tuesday, holding a stamped piece of paper, or so-called voting evidence slip, as proof of voting. The slip, a popular online trend, serves as an unofficial proof or a souvenir to share on social media, on which voters place a stamp in the middle.

The two K-pop stars appeared to be dressed in black, with no caption included on Hongjoong’s Instagram story — likely to avoid any association with political parties.

Their bandmate, Wooyoung, also shared an image of a piece of paper stamped in the center on his personal Instagram account.

Yim Si-wan, an idol-turned-actor who debuted as a member of boy band ZE:A in 2010, posted a photo of himself taken outside a polling station, also dressed in black.

Singer-turned-actor Yoon Eun-hye, who debuted as a member of the first-generation K-pop girl group Baby V.O.X in 1999, encouraged fans to join her in a social media post with the caption, “Let’s vote today, everyone.”

The “Coffee Prince” (2007) actor appears in the photos dressed in muted tones of white and beige, and even put a sticker on her hand in the photo to avoid potential speculation that might arise from hand gestures.

Such prudence reflects the heightened sensitivity surrounding political symbolism. Television personality Hong Jin-kyung posted a handwritten apology letter on Tuesday for uploading a photo of herself dressed in a vivid red — which represents the conservative People Power Party — on Monday.

“I’m truly sorry for the confusion in this sensitive time,” Hong said.

Karina of girl group aespa and SM Entertainment also r ecently issued apologies for uploading a photo speculated to signal political affiliation.

Meanwhile, retired Korean volleyball star Kim Yeon-koung shared a photo of herself with her head sticking out of a polling station, as well as another photo of her hand stamped with a caption, “Let’s vote.”

Seventeen's Hoshi, iKON's Jay, Super Junior's Donghae, singer Sunmi, actor Park Bo-young, first-generation K-pop star Rain, and CNBlue bassist Lee Jung-shin also shared photos and encouraged fans to vote.

Ahead of the big day, many big-name stars participated in early voting held on May 29 and 30, with a number of celebrities including BTS’s J-Hope, NMIXX’s Haewon, boy band KickFlip, actors Kim Go-eun and Han Ye-ri, singers Yoon Jong-shin, Lee Seung-hwan and Lee Chae-yeon and comedian Cho Sae-ho sharing their experiences at the polls.

On Sunday, actor Lee Dong-wook also encouraged his fans to vote through fan platform Dear U Bubble messages, saying that he also participated in the early voting.

“For those who said that there’s no one worth voting for — as I always say, voting is to prevent the worst,” the actor said. “If there’s no ideal choice, we are choosing the lesser evil to avoid the worst.”

UPDATED, June 3: Updated the headline, added posts from additional celebrities and recent apologies from Hong Jin-kyung, Karina

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]