A Japanese girl group has used a maliciously photoshopped photo of the late Goo Hara, a member of the Korean girl group Kara, for marketing purposes.

Professor Seo Kyung-deok of Sungshin Women’s University said, “We found out thanks to many netizens reporting it,” and “It was an image of a coffin photoshopped onto a photo of Goo Hara by the Japanese girl group ‘FiB’ through their official SNS.”

The post was captioned “IDGAF” (I don t give a fxxx, meaning “I don’t care at all.”

In response, Korean and Japanese Kara fans criticized ‘FiB’ for using Goo Hara as a marketing tool and damaging the deceased’s reputation.

As the controversy grew, PYBI took down the post and apologized, saying, “We were not aware of the context surrounding the late Goo Hara who appeared in the image.”

He also seemed to be shifting responsibility, saying that he had been sharing ‘memes’ (Internet trending content)created by fans.

Professor Seo pointed out, “Above all, Goo Hara was a top star who was greatly loved in Japan, so saying ‘I didn’t recognize it’ is nothing more than an excuse.”

He also criticized, “No matter how successful K-pop is around the world, using a photo of a deceased K-pop star for promotional purposes along with an image of a casket is absolutely unforgivable.”

In particular, he warned, “If you want to become a girl group that wants to enter the global market, you must first adhere to basic human behavior.”

Reporter Yoonna Choi com Donga.com yyynnn@donga

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.