Red Velvet's Seulgi Apologizes Following Controversy Over High Heel Incident
On July 12, Red Velvet flew to Taiwan to perform at the K-Mega Concert in Kaohsiung. When the group first arrived at Incheon International Airport for their flight to Taiwan, Seulgi was initially wearing a pair of sponsored high heels. However, when the group arrived at Kaohsiung International Airport, some noticed that she had swapped shoes with a manager: Seulgi was now wearing a pair of sneakers, while her manager was wearing her high heels.
As the high heels seemed too big for the manager, Seulgi came under fire as some accused her of inconsiderately causing the manager physical discomfort for the sake of her own comfort.
On July 13, Seulgi took to Instagram Stories to personally apologize for the incident.
Her full post is as follows:
I would like to apologize to my manager for yesterday’s incident at the airport and also for disappointing many people.
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.
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.
With my feet hurting, I was unable to think of another solution and made a poor decision in 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.