After President Yoon declared his short-lived martial law in South Korea on December 3rd, rallies and candlelight vigils took place in Yeouido for two weeks until the National Assembly passed the motion to impeach the leader on the 14th.
At the time, IU, Girls’ Generation’s Yuri, and NewJeans were some of the few K-pop stars who publicly showed support for the impeachment rally by sending snacks, meals, and other necessities to their respective fandoms who joined the protest.
“We prepared snacks and hot packs in the hopes that the cold hands of UAENAs (IU’s fandom), who attended the rallies holding I-KE (lightsticks) in the cold weather to brighten up the surroundings, will feel a little warm,” IU expressed through her agency, EDAM.
Yuri, who pre-paid kimbap for SONEs from a store in Dangsan-dong, also encouraged the fandom by sending her message.
“Keep safe and healthy. Sing ‘Into the New World’ well,” she said.
Lastly, NewJeans also revealed on their newly launched Instagram account @jeanzforfree that they donated 500 servings of food and drinks for Bunnies (fandom) present in the rally.
However, this didn’t sit well with those who weren’t in favor of the president’s impeachment, and suggested a boycott campaign against the K-pop stars.
The said community listed brands advertised by the female stars with the intention of avoiding purchases and consumptions of items from the companies.
“We saw a related article (about the boycott), but it had no significant impact on sales over the weekend,” one brand told the K-media outlet Ilgan Sports.
Rather, this movement backfired against the community who started the boycott as fans used the list to show support for the brands instead, as a payback to the donations of the idols.
“Why does it matter if the stars are worried about and love their fans?” asked a fan.
“Let’s buy more at this point,” added another netter.
Meanwhile, the impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk Yeol, which was voted on on the 14th, was passed with 204 votes in favor, 85 votes against, 3 abstentions, and 8 invalid votes out of 300 members of the National Assembly.
With this, President Yoon has been suspended from his duties.
RELATED ARTICLE: SNSD’s Yuri Buys President Yoon Impeachment Protestors Kimbap: “Sing ‘Into The New World’ Well’
