[Comprehensive] Lee Min-jung's 'Itaewon Party Attendance' Controversy "Sorry for Causing Concern... It Was Not Itaewon"

Lee Min-jung, Lee Joo-yeon, Hyomin, Son Yeon-jae, Kim Hee-jung, and others attended

As the number of confirmed cases related to Itaewon clubs in Seoul continues to rise daily, actress Lee Min-jung has been mentioned as a celebrity who enjoyed a friend's birthday party in Itaewon, sparking controversy.
/Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suwan] As the number of confirmed cases related to Itaewon clubs in Seoul continues to rise, actress Lee Minjung has been mentioned as a celebrity who enjoyed a friend's birthday party in Itaewon, sparking controversy. In response, Lee Minjung's side clarified, "It is true that she attended a friend's birthday party, but the location was not Itaewon."

On the 20th, Sports Kyunghyang reported that despite concerns over the resurgence of COVID-19, celebrities including Lee Minjung attended a birthday party in Itaewon held by a famous figure in the fashion industry, Mr. A, on the 9th.

Among the celebrities who attended Mr. A's birthday party were Lee Minjung, actress Lee Jooyeon formerly of After School, T-ara member Hyomin, former national rhythmic gymnastics athlete Son Yeonjae, actress Kim Heejung, and Im Jihyun, CEO of Imvely. The birthday party host, Mr. A, is known as a prominent figure in the fashion industry.

In particular, the media claimed that the party was held at a cafe in Hannam-dong, just 700 meters away from the Itaewon bar visited by Jungkook, Cha Eunwoo, Mingyu, and Jaehyun at the end of April.

Regarding this, Lee Minjung's agency, MSTEAM Entertainment, stated in a press release on the same day, "First of all, we apologize for causing concern during a time when many people are struggling with social distancing due to COVID-19. However, there are distorted parts in the reported content that we would like to clarify."

The agency explained, "Actress Lee Minjung stopped by a brunch cafe in Cheongdam-dong, the venue of a close friend's birthday invitation, to deliver a gift and exchange greetings, took a commemorative photo, and then immediately left the place. The report that she attended and spent time at an Itaewon party is incorrect."

They continued, "All citizens are united in practicing social distancing, and actress Lee Minjung has been engaged in drama filming and, as a mother of one child, has refrained from attending crowded places or events. Since it was an invitation from a close friend, she thought it was appropriate to convey congratulations by briefly stopping by to deliver a gift, but she also believes that she should have refrained from even that."

Finally, they apologized, saying, "Once again, we apologize for this matter and will be more cautious in our actions going forward."

On the same day, the agencies of T-ara's Hyomin and actress Kim Heejung also stated, "Although late, both acknowledge that their actions were careless regardless of the reasons and are reflecting on it."

Regarding the 'Itaewon party' allegations, they explained, "Hyomin and Kim Heejung attended a friend's birthday party held at a cafe in Cheongdam-dong on May 9."

Meanwhile, earlier, from the evening of the 25th to the early morning of the 26th of last month, BTS's Jungkook, ASTRO's Cha Eunwoo, NCT's Jaehyun, and SEVENTEEN's Mingyu were reported to have visited an Itaewon bar, drawing public criticism.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.