Woni, a member of girl group Risenné. [The Muse Entertainment]
Woni, a member of girl group Risenné. [The Muse Entertainment]

A remark by Woni, a member of girl group Risenné, has sparked controversy over alleged ties to Ilbe — short for Ilgan Best Jeojangso, a far-right online community — and a citizen has now filed a complaint with her hometown of Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, demanding an official response.

According to Geoje city officials Friday, a complaint was recently submitted through the government's public petition portal asking the city to clarify its official understanding of the expression "muspno" that Woni used.

The city confirmed it had formally received the complaint and said it was "comprehensively reviewing the current situation."

Officials are expected to examine the complaint and the broader controversy before deciding whether to issue a response and what form it should take.

Woni is from Geoje, and the city developed a close relationship with Risenné after the group helped raise its profile — notably when Japanese member Minami appeared on Woni's YouTube channel and shouted "Geoje, yahoo!" in a clip that went viral. The city later appointed the group as honorary ambassadors to promote the region.

The controversy began when Woni used the expression "muspno" in a video posted to her YouTube channel, prompting a local broadcast producer to call it out publicly.

Some argued the phrase resembled expressions associated with Ilbe users, while others pushed back, saying it is simply a dialect word from the Gyeongsang region.

The dispute has spilled into politics. Cho Guk, former leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party, suggested that mechanically appending "no" to standard Korean sentences could be seen as an Ilbe-style expression. Lee Jun-seok, leader of the Reform Party, rebuffed that characterization, arguing that an idol from Geoje should not be politically stigmatized for using her hometown dialect.


ygmoon@heraldcorp.com