Back on July 1, Lee Hyori greeted fans via an Instagram live broadcast with her close hoobae, Girls' Generation's YoonA. 

Lee Hyori said to viewers, "I had some drinks with YoonA and now we're here at a karaoke in Apgu-jeong."  However, while carrying on the broadcast by asking YoonA to pick out a song to sing, Lee Hyori came across some comments from viewers reprimanding the two stars for their outing. She then asked, "Why, is there some reason we shouldn't be at the karaoke?" YoonA then quickly said, "We were careful and we wore masks," holding up their masks. Eventually, Lee Hyori shut off the live broadcast after just 2~3 short minutes. 

Even after the broadcast, various netizens continued to reprimand the two stars for holding such an outing, going against COVID19 precautions, especially during recent spikes in new cases over the past few weeks. 

Eventually, on July 2, Lee Hyori wrote an apology to her fans in a new Instagram update. She said, "Hello, this is Lee Hyori. I'm currently deeply reflecting on my mistake from last night in light of recent times... These days I'm in such a good mood that I didn't think things through.. As an unnie, I'm also sorry toward YoonA.. From now on, I will act more carefully and more thoughtfully.. Once again, I apologize."