IU, Zo In-sung, Park Bo-young. Photo=Provided by Yonhap News.

Amid continuing protests blocking the Jamsil counting center to demand a re-election after the June 3 local elections ballot-paper shortage, the social media accounts of some celebrities are being hit by an unexpected barrage of comments.

On the 7th, on singer-actor IU’s social media, comments such as “Please support the Jamsil protesters the way you prepaid for rally participants,” “Why are you silent on the infringement of voting rights,” and “Please send coffee trucks to the protest sites in Jamsil and Gwanghwamun as well” were posted one after another.

This reaction appears to have emerged as it was recalled that in December 2024, during rallies calling for the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, IU prepaid for drinks and gukbap for fans. At the time, IU prepared hundreds of servings of food and snacks, including bread, beverages, and gukbap, to cheer on rally participants.

Similar comments continued on the social media of actors Zo In-sung and Park Bo-young. Some users left messages to Zo In-sung such as “Should you not also state your position on this matter,” “Why are you silent about the ballot-paper shortage,” and “Suffrage has been taken away now, say something.”

This seems to have stemmed from renewed attention to the fact that Zo In-sung mentioned on a past broadcast that, due to the aftermath of the December 3 martial law, the exchange rate surged, making it difficult to stay overseas while filming the movie ‘Humint’.

On the social media of Park Bo-young as well, there were comments such as “You left a message during the martial law period, so why say nothing this time,” “Please also prepay at the Jamsil protest site,” and “You pretended to be a conscientious celebrity, but it was selective justice.”

During the period when rallies calling for the impeachment of former President Yoon were ongoing, Park Bo-young left a message of support to fans: “It is cold, so bundle up tightly when you go out. I hope a warm spring arrives soon.”

In addition, similar demands are appearing in comments on the social media of entertainers who previously joined messages of support or prepayment during the impeachment turmoil, such as actor Lee Dong-wook and Yuri of Girls’ Generation.

Meanwhile, during the main voting on the 3rd, some polling stations, including in Seoul districts Gangnam-gu, Gwangjin-gu, and Songpa-gu, ran short of ballot papers, leading to long waits for voters. Afterwards, at the Jamsil 7-dong No. 2 polling station in Songpa-gu, protesters demanding a re-election blocked the entrance to the polling place, delaying the removal of ballot boxes.

On the 5th, Noh Tae-ak, chair of the National Election Commission, apologized for the ballot-paper shortage and expressed his intention to resign, but protests demanding a re-election are still continuing in the Jamsil area.