South Korea presidential elections: Why K-pop stars are ditching the ‘V’ sign

South Korea is heading to elections on Tuesday (June 3). The East Asian country will elect its new president after months of political upheaval.

Democratic Party’s presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung is pitted against the conservative candidate, Kim Moon Soo. The June presidential elections have prompted Korean celebrities to be mindful about their actions in public for fear that they could be interpreted as support for a political candidate.

Let’s look at what is going on.

‘V’ sign out, clenched fists in

K-pop stars are being wary about their hand gestures and poses as South Korea elects the new president this week.

Celebrities are avoiding making the popular ‘V’ sign in public. As per a report by AllKpop, NMIXX girl group members Bae and Sullyoon organised a YouTube livestream on May 27 during which Bae made the V sign with her fingers.

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However, she immediately shouted, “No! Don’t do the V!", holding her head in distress.
Sullyoon tried to ease the situation with a similar gesture. She hesitantly made a V sign as part of a challenge ending pose. However, after realising it might be seen as a political statement, Sullyoon  immediately showed one to five numbers with her fingers.

The selfies taken on voting days have also stirred controversies in South Korea. Some celebrities have gone to great lengths to choose their poses and outfits, even hiding their hair colour, reported The Korea Times.

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As the ‘V’ sign becomes taboo during elections, Korean stars have been clenching their fists when being photographed.

The boy band Tomorrow X Together, or TXT, was recently captured showing clenched fists in a group photo. They also grabbed headlines after they improvised their V sign by counting from one to five during a live broadcast.

To avoid controversy, virtual boy band PLAVE carefully folded their fingers while posing for a group photo on May 24 during a YouTube livestream.

250528 유플러스 팬싸 #앤톤 #ANTON

자기도 모르게 브이하고 놀라서 아니라곸ㅋㅋㅋㅋ 귀여워 .. ♡ pic.twitter.com/ekWtZ5Ci5c

— 베베 (@antonbabyyy) May 28, 2025

As per AllKpop, the boy band ZEROBASEONE’s Kim Tae Rae edited a selfie last week after sharing his picture making a V sign on the fan communication app Bubble, with the caption “I’m in Korea” via.

He wrote a message later: “Oh right. I heard we shouldn’t do the V sign during this season,” and added, “I’ll neutralise it with my blue phone case.”

He took down the photo after this text.

Why ‘V’ sign is a big NO

K-pop stars have ditched certain poses and hand gestures during the presidential race as they could be perceived as making a political statement.

The V sign can be interpreted as support for the conservative People Power Party. It is ’number 2’ on the ballot and identified with the colour red, as per the AllKpop report.

As the V sign resembles the number 2, the gesture can be seen as celebrities endorsing a particular party.

South Korea’s snap elections

South Korea is voting to pick the successor of conservative Yoon Suk Yeol . Yoon was ousted by Parliament last December after he briefly imposed martial law. His impeachment was upheld by the Constitutional Court in April.

Now, liberal Democratic Party candidate Lee is facing People Power Party’s Kim in the South Korean presidential elections. Four other candidates are in the race, including Lee Jun-seok of the small conservative New Reform Party.

Surveys give Lee an edge over Kim in the presidential race, with the Democratic Party candidate leading with 49.2 per cent against the PPP nominee’s 36.8 per cent.

Early voting has concluded, with the 21st presidential election slated for Tuesday.

With inputs from agencies