Amid the controversy over the photos taken by GFREIND’s Sowon with a mannequin reminiscent of a Nazi soldier, her agency published a public apology.
Yesterday, Sowon posted two pictures of her with a Nazi soldier mannequin on her Instagram, staring an upheaval. She soon deleted the photos, but the fact that the same mannequin appeared in GRFEIN”s content was revealed, stirring up an even bigger controversy.
In this regard, GFRIEND’s agency Source Music issued an official position and apology, writing, “We would like to deeply apologize for the controversy that was stirred up from the photos Sowon uploaded and the behind video from GFRIEND’s ‘Comeback Show’ VCR.”
They explained that last November, GFRIEND rented a cade in Paju to shoot VCR for the group’s new album comeback show, and the company staff took behind-the-scenes videos at the filming site as well as several photos for artists’ social media. However, the department in charge missed the problem with the mannequin’s attire during the on-site inspection process on the day of the shooting.
Then they apologized, saying, “We apologize for not realizing the inappropriate props in advance, not thoroughly inspecting the content before uploading, and not paying close attention to historical facts and social problems. We bow our head to those who felt uncomfortable with the video and the pictures.”
Despite the agency’s apology, more netizens took the issue to Twitter. #TO6ETHERWITHGFRIEND quickly trended as GFRIEND fans attempted to comfort the member while others used the hashtag to bring light on the seriousness of the issue.
