2NE1 member Dara is facing criticism for her past remarks on her YouTube show, 'Dara Tour'.

During an episode of 'Dara Tour' aired in May of last year, Dara enjoyed a trip to the Philippines with Minzy. 

On this episode, Dara recalled a story from her youth. She said, "A boy came up to me and asked me for my number. He was so cute, I was like, why not. But it turned out, he was 14 years old."

She continued, "I was 19 years old at the time. It was right before I debuted as a singer. But I thought, who knows when I'm gonna see him again, and lied about my age, telling him I was 16. After that, we went on a couple of dates. We played whack-a-mole and basketball at the arcade and went to see a movie."

The singer then shared, "But then I suddenly debuted, and my real age was revealed on TV. I didn't contact him again after that." 

Hearing this, Minzy remarked with laughter, "That boy got scammed."

However, Dara's story is now facing renewed criticism, as many global netizens found Dara's actions to be problematic. Some even claimed, "This is a borderline sexual offense," and "If the genders were reversed, it would have been considered a serious crime."

Opinions were varied due to the fact that in some countries, Dara would have been considered an adult at the age of 19, while the boy would have been considered a minor at 14. By Korean standards, both Dara and the 14 year old boy would have been considered minors (the legal age for adults in South Korea is 20).

Acknowledging the controversy, Dara's YouTube channel edited out the segment from the video in question. The channel also stated,

"Some parts of this episode have been re-edited to avoid potential misunderstandings that may arise due to cultural differences.
We kindly ask you to refrain from spreading unfounded speculations, misinterpretations, or malicious comments about the artist based on the video content.
We will continue to monitor the situation closely and take appropriate legal action against any attempts to defame the artist’s reputation."

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