Hyosung's misuse of the word 'democratization' has been receiving criticism.

On May 14, the SECRET members were guests on SBS Power FM's 'Choi Hwa Jung's Power Time' and on the show, Hyosung stated, "Our team respects each other's individuality so our group doesn't utilize democratization."

The word 'democratization' is used to indicate when a country or society transitions from an authoritarian regime to a democracy. However, Hyosung seems to have misunderstood what the word meant and misused the phrase.

Even worse, some have pointed out that the website full of conservatives Ilgan Best uses the phrase '?????? / democratization' not for its original meaning, but as something to mean 'the citizens create chaos', 'to destroy', or 'to make disappear', meanings which seem to suit Hyosung's use more. Because the way she phrased it, there are people who believe that she could possibly be a member of the site as the site's user are notorious for phrasing it that way ('??????' with '???' part being the key part), which is different from how it would be normally used. The website is full of many extremists and is the target of much criticism, there are some posts on the site which make fun of people's deaths and is generally thought to be a negative place.

There were many who came to Hyosung's defense stating, "She probably used it not knowing what the word really meant", and "It could've been an honest mistake." While others stated, "Even if she doesn't know history, she shouldn't be saying misused words like they're nothing."

Her label spoke up to say, "She used the word without knowing what it meant. She's surprised that the issue has become so big after what she said." They also affirmed that she was not a member of Ilgan Best.

Hyosung also took to her Twitter to apologize, writing, "Hello, this is SECRET's leader Hyosung. I apologize for the incorrect phrase I used on 'Choi Hwa Jung's Power Time' today. I'm self-reflecting on the point that I misused a word without understanding what it really meant. I'm sorry. I'll be careful to make sure this never happens again. I apologize again."



Source: Sports Chosun via Nate, Herald Economy via Nate, Hankook Economy via Nate
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]