Red Velvet's Seulgi apologizes after drawing backlash for swapping shoes with her manager
Red Velvet's Seulgi issued an apology after she drew flack for swapping her high heels for her manager's shoes at an airport.
The K-pop idol said she made a "poor decision" during that time as the shoe exchange caused "discomfort" to the latter.
On July 12, Red Velvet was en route to Taiwan for the K-Mega Concert in Kaohsiung. According to Soompi, Seulgi had been wearing sponsored high heels when the group first arrived at Incheon International Airport for their flight.
When the group got to Kaohsiung International Airport, some of the eagle-eyed social media users saw that the K-pop star had switched shoes with one of her managers who was spotted wearing the heels.
Seulgi faced criticism since some noted that she had "inconsiderately caused physical discomfort" to her manager as the high heels seemed too big for the latter.
She then addressed the issue in an Instagram story and apologized for the inconvenience it brought to her fans and her manager.
"I would like to apologize to my manager for yesterday’s incident at the airport and also for disappointing many people," Seulgi wrote, translated by Soompi.
The 30-year-old K-pop idol went on to narrate her condition during that time.
"At the time, I had recently developed blisters and wounds on my feet while practicing. But because the heels I wore at the airport [in Incheon] weren’t that high, I thought they’d be okay, so I carelessly failed to prepare a spare set of sneakers just in case," she wrote.
Seulgi added that her manager "suggested" that they swap shoes until they left the airport so that she would not have a hard time walking or performing for their show.
"While walking, my feet shifted [inside the shoes], causing new wounds to gradually form, and when my manager saw that I was having a hard time walking after arriving in Kaohsiung, she thought that it might be difficult for me to perform later [if I kept wearing them], so she suggested that we swap shoes only until we left the airport."
The Red Velvet member said this was a "poor decision" and that she had personally apologized to her manager.
"With my feet hurting, I was unable to think of another solution and made a poor decision at the moment, and I apologize to the people I must have disappointed. I also feel nothing but apologetic towards my manager, who must have been upset by this incident."
"I have personally apologized to my manager, and I will be even more cautious and take care so that this kind of incident does not happen in the future."
Seulgi is one-fifth of the K-pop girl group Red Velvet. She is also a member of GOT the beat, a South Korean supergroup and the first sub-unit of project group Girls On Top alongside soloist BoA, Taeyeon and Hyoyeon from Girls' Generation, Wendy from Red Velvet, and Karina and Winter of Aespa.
Meanwhile, her group, Red Velvet is heading back to Manila in September, bringing the Happiness: My Dear, ReVe1uv fan con to the Philippines on Sept. 14 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.