2NE1's Dara recently found herself embroiled in controversy over a statement stating she dated a 14-year-old when she was 19.

Last May, she shared a vlog of her trip to the Philippines with her fellow 2NE1 member, Minzy.

In the video, Dara recalled, "A guy approached me and asked for my number. He was so cute that I gave him my number, but later, I found out he was 14 years old. At the time, I was 19, just about to debut."

She continued, "I lied and said I was 16, and we went on a few dates. We played whack-a-mole, and basketball games, and watched movies together. Then, suddenly, I debuted, and my real age was revealed on TV. After that, I stopped contacting him."

Minzy laughed, saying, "That guy got scammed," but netizens reacted differently.

Many criticized Dara, saying, "I can't believe she's laughing while telling this story," "How can she joke about lying about her age to date a 14-year-old?" "At certain ages, a five-year age gap is a huge deal," and "This kind of behavior should never be normalized."

However, instead of apologizing, Dara's production team announced they would be taking legal action.

They deleted the controversial part from the video, re-uploaded it, and 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."

Discussions about this issue grew following the statement released by Dara's YouTube production company. Korean netizens gathered in various online platforms to express their opinions about the matter. They commented:

"Possible Misinterpretation Due to Cultural Differences? Which culture supposedly allows this? Even in Islamic cultures where child marriages happen, people criticize it."

"Possible misinterpretation due to cultural differences...?? Is that how it is in the Philippines? What...? These comments are ridiculous. If a 19-year-old male idol lied about his age and dated a middle schooler, would people just brush it off as a "cultural difference"? An adult dating a minor should be criticized."

"Wasn't she 19 at the time? That means she wasn’t a minor herself. I can see how things were different in the past, but it’s not like this happened recently."

"A 19-year-old abroad is counted differently than in Korea."

"But Dara was also a minor at the time, right? She was wrong, but does it really warrant this much backlash?"

"Look at the comments—if a male idol had lied about his age and dated a 7th grader, would people react the same way?"

"A five-year age gap at that age is huge. Even a 20-year-old dating a 25-year-old gets people talking, so 14 and 19? She must have known it was wrong, which is why she lied about her age. And then she even called it "cute" and shared it on TV?"

"A 14-year-old has been out of elementary school for only a year, while a 19-year-old is about to graduate high school."

"Was there really a need to bring this up publicly?"

"If we go by international age, the guy was in middle school while she was in college, right? No wonder it's controversial."

"But didn’t Sandara debut at 26? If she was 19 and then said she debuted and stopped contacting him... does that mean they kept in touch for seven years? Or was she talking about her Philippine debut and the article mistakenly wrote it as her 2NE1 debut?"

"A 19-year-old internationally is already college-age. In Korean age, she would have been 20 or 21. Lying about her age to date a minor—why is she bragging about this?"

"If she was 19 internationally, then she was already over 20 in Korean age."

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