Previously, Hong Seok Cheon has been under fire for "remaining silent" about the "Itaewon Club" COVID-19 controversy.
Hong Seok Cheon, one of the very few LGBT members on Korean TV, was placed at the forefront in response to the recent outbreaks of COVID-19 in Itaewon bars based on the fact that the clubs were considered to be renowned among many members of the LGBT community.
Not long after, people on social media mistakenly attacked him for remaining quiet on the matter. The personality then opened up about this through his Instagram account.
Hong Seok Cheon stated that he considers such an event "disturbing" and "disheartening."
"Now is the chance to be brave. This is because it is a daunting thing for the LGBT community to expose their sexuality to families, acquaintances, and society," he began.
"For someone who has been in Itaewon for such a considerable period of time, I consider this event very disheartening and disturbing, but the fact that so many people do not answer to calls for testing is what concerns me the first and most," he went on.
The TV personality said he knows better than evceryone else to be "outed" out of concern, but he added that now is the time to prioritize the wellbeing of one's household and society.
"Because they say you can get screened discretely, please do so immediately. This is a tough time for anyone. And to get out of that, everybody is working incredibly hard around each other," he shared.
Then, Hong Soek Cheon encouraged everyone to be confident in being checked not to compromise the efforts of other people as well as healthcare professionals.
Events leading up to his Instagram post, Hong Seok Cheon was attacked for not attempting to speak out the way he did when a church identified as Shincheonji caused a significant outbreak of COVID-19 to happen.
Some of the opinions expressed on social media platforms on Hong Seok Cheon include:
"You requested that they participated when Shincheonji was happening on, so why are you all so completely silent now? Write a letter of truth about this now."
"Kindly remind and ask the gay population, in a discussion or statement, to get checked and cooperate with the authorities and the investigation. Please, please."
"You are the only one capable of making a massive impact in this circumstance. If you are to keep your lips totally shut now, that will show what other kind of individual you are actually."
"Since the Itaewon clubs have become a concern, the LGBT community's reputation is becoming worse, and they are disrupting the quarantine authorities' job by not answering to the calls for testing."
"You should show your leverage at times like this by convincingly asking them to reach out and get checked."
However, other people on social media rush to the safety and security of Hong Seok Cheon for harassment against the star.
"Why did they all stress out on Cheon Hong Seok?"
"Criticizing Hong Seok Cheon for all this is completely a mistake, but I do not believe it would be big a problem for him to use his strong impact as a member of the LGBT community."
A person recently checked for COVID-19 after attending five clubs in Itaewon, and two of the guests are members of the LGBT community. A significant number of tourists failed to respond to health officials' requests for testing, creating fears about another COVID-19 surge in Korea.
