In the early morning of August 15th, Stray Kids Felix was communicating with fans on a messaging platform when he mentioned a short-form challenge involving a Japanese song. This instantly drew criticisms from Korean netizens, who pointed out that it was inappropriate to mention any Japanese content as that day happens to be the 79th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japan.
Shortly after, Felix issued an official statement, apologizing for what happened. He wrote, "I sincerely apologize for being inattentive and careless on this meaningful Independence Day. I am deeply reflecting on my lack of historical consciousness. I will study, think, and act more in areas where I have been lacking, and be careful not to repeat this."
Following his swift apology, the cricisms toned down as local netizens acknowledged his apology and pointed out how efficient he was at handling his mistake. Netizens wrote on South Korean online communities:
- I like how fast he responded.
- I really thought he would just sweep it off like others did.
- If you don't do it again, you'll be fine.
- Well done. It's something you can learn, so just learn it and don't do it again.
- There are a lot of kids who don't apologize, so it's not easy to apologize on the same day.
- The apology was neat and detailed.
- It's wise to apologize fast.
- Others are malicious commenters using this to hate on him.
- Do you know who should apologize? KBS.
- It's a shame he wasn't careful but at least he learned.
- Other idols should learn.
- It's really hard for celebrities to live lol