Lee Young Ji has apologized for the controversy surrounding her perceived disregard of SEVENTEEN member DK's kindness.

On the 2nd, Lee Young Ji posted an apology in English on her social media. The post read, "I understand how everyone might feel about this and will be more careful with my actions. I am sorry to everyone."

Previously, on the 1st, Lee Young Ji posted a screenshot on social media, seemingly mocking a comment from a netizen pretending to be SEVENTEEN's DK, with a message from DK saying, "Young Ji, let's receive lots of luck in the New Year! You worked so hard this year~ It must have been a valuable year for you. I'm always supporting you, so I hope you soar higher in 2024. Take care of your health and make sure to eat well," to which she replied, "DK, you're really the funniest person in the world."

This was related to a meme from last year's web variety show "There's Nothing Much To Offer," involving an episode about messages between DK and Lee Young Ji.

In the show, Lee Young Ji mentioned, "I often received long text messages from senior DK that seemed like spam. I felt pressured to reply with a message of similar length." She then shared a long text message from DK, and fellow member Joshua added, "DK has a thing for sending long, emotional text messages."

Some fans misinterpreted this as Lee Young Ji disregarding DK's kindness, leading to criticism from overseas fans. In response, Lee Young Ji deleted the post and later shared an apology in English, clarifying, "The screenshot was cut off, but of course, I replied. I even asked for permission to post it."

Lee Young Ji also expressed, "I'm truly sorry. That wasn't my intention. I'm always grateful for DK senior's kind texts and affectionate moments." She continued, "I've always learned how to be honest and passionate from him, whom I respect in this field. The screenshot was cut off, but of course, I replied. And I got permission to post it."

Finally, Lee Young Ji said, "However, I understood how fans of SEVENTEEN might have felt about my post. I will be more careful with my actions in the future. I apologize to everyone," and promised, "I won't upload such posts again."

Despite the incident being a mere misunderstanding due to communication differences, netizens defended Lee Young Ji, saying, "It was just a joke, why be so sensitive?" and "Is this really something that requires a formal apology?"