![Singer and actor IU [Newsis]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/06/06/news-p.v1.20260606.e263bf9dbef742b08d627b2dfb7d3343_P1.jpg)
As a protest blockading a ballot-counting center in Jamsil entered its second day amid demands for a re-election over a ballot shortage, the controversy spilled over onto singer and actor IU — real name Lee Ji-eun, 33 — who has no connection to the dispute.
Commenters have been flooding IU's social media accounts with requests to prepay for snacks and drinks for the protesters, citing a similar gesture she made during the impeachment crisis.
On Saturday, screenshots of IU's Instagram comment section began circulating online. The comments included messages such as "Please prepay for Starbucks in Jamsil" and "People have gathered in Jamsil over the election fraud. Could you prepay for them?"
The requests stem from IU's past support for fans who attended rallies calling for the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol.
During those impeachment rallies in December 2024, IU prepaid for 100 loaves of bread, 100 drinks, 100 bowls of gukbap — a rice and meat soup — and gomtang, 100 bowls of separate-style gukbap and 100 rice cakes for demonstrators.
IU was not the only celebrity targeted. Actor Lee Dong-wook and Girls' Generation member Yuri also received similar demands on their social media accounts.
Lee Dong-wook's account drew comments such as "Voting rights were restricted and taken away — why aren't you speaking up?" Yuri's account received messages including "Why are you just watching what's happening at the Jamsil polling station right now?"
The unrest traces back to June 3, the main voting day for local elections, when ballot shortages at some polling stations in Seoul's Gangnam-gu, Gwangjin-gu and Songpa-gu left voters waiting. At the second polling station in Jamsil 7-dong, Songpa-gu, protesters demanding a halt to vote counting and a re-election blockaded the entrance. Two ballot boxes were removed 35 hours after polls closed.
Amid the ongoing standoff outside the Jamsil counting center, election commission officials who had been reported trapped inside are believed to have slipped out past the protesters.
mss@heraldcorp.com
