It seems netizens are not yet ready to forgive ASTRO's Cha Eun Woo and NCT's Jaehyun for their violation of social distancing protocols last April when they hung out at the Itaewon district.
It can be recalled that South Korea's Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures recommended that all persons who visited the Itaewon district from April 24 to May 6 refrain from leaving their homes after the agency confirmed that a man who was found positive of COVID-19 recently visited bars in the area.
After dropping blind item articles of several idols who were spotted in the district within that time, Dispatch confirmed BTS' Jungkook, ASTRO's Cha Eun Woo, SEVENTEEN's Mingyu and NCT's Jaehyun in Itaewon on the night of April 25 until the wee hours of April 26. The four idols reportedly visited a restaurant and two bars.
Their agencies were quick to issue an apology on behalf of the idols and assured that the time of the idols did not visit any of the locations where COVID-19 breakouts were detected. They also said that the artists' visit to Itaewon took place before the first confirmed case.
The agencies also reported that Jungkook, Cha Eun Woo, Mingyu and Jaehyun have undergone the recommended COVID-19 test even though none of them were showing signs of infection. All of them tested negative of the Coronavirus.
In the wake of the public apologies issued by Big Hit Entertainment, Pledis Entertainment, Fantagio, and SM Entertainment, NCT's Jaehyun and ASTRO's Cha Eun Woo chose to convey their personal apologies for disappointing the fans.
In his letter, NCT's Jaehyun apologized to his fans, his agency, and all the people who were inconvenienced by his irresponsible actions.
Cha Eun Woo also followed suit and posted a handwritten apology on his social media page. In his letter, he apologized for participating in the Thank You challenge but failing to comply with social distancing protocols when he hung out with his friends in Itaewon. The Thank You challenge enjoined celebrities and citizens to post a photo with a thumbs-up sign to show their support for frontliners fighting the threat of COVID-19.
Like Jaehyun, Cha Eun Woo also apologized to his fans, agency, and all of the people whom he disappointed with his callous actions. Netizens were irked over the similarities in the letter and asked whether the two idols asked each other about what they would write in their letters before posting them. Some netizens said that the letters lacked sincerity and seemed perfunctory.
