Popular K-drama actor Kim Sung Cheol lands in hot water after taking part in an online poll by a social media account alleged to be posting inappropriate content.
The actor was dragged into the heat-up when netizens discovered that his username was among those who voted in a poll comparing female idols Kwon Eunbi and Kang Hyewon.
Although the poll itself seemed innocuous, the account behind it has been accused of posting sexualized videos and conducting dubious multiple-choice polls, prompting public outrage.
"@sungcheol2 and 29,000 people voted," read a post on the community site theqoo, revealing Kim's participation.
Fans and netizens in various places expressed their disappointment, bashing the actor for engaging with such kind of content.
"Ugh, f*ck. He was a pretty good image to me," one user wrote, and others bemoaned the incident as an avoidable mistake.
Other comments from Korean netizens include:
- It's a shame I don't know who he is. I wish he hadn't sneakily appeared on the show.
- The public opinion is so bad, It would be better for celebrities to just not use Instagram
- Hahaha is it that hard to live with your wits about you?
- Oh my... My idol is friends with that guy... Please don't let my idol get caught up in something like thatㅠ
- It's funny how these days, strangely-looking guys come out and call themselves actors, but before I can even remember who they are, they always do weird things. If you don't know how to use it, don't use SNS.
Many celebrities have public and private social media accounts, but sometimes the accounts get confused. Kim's supposed slip-up has led to conversations about the need to separate personal and professional identities online.
Kim Sung Cheol has yet to make a public comment on the matter.
