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Red Velvet's Irene was recently praised for her leadership skills and taking a stand for her members at the Gaon Chart Music Awards. On the award ceremony's red carpet, photographers requested the members remove their masks for a better image, but the leader denied the request.
Although the group later obliged, Irene's consideration and guts to refuse the request were hailed by fans across Korean forums and Twitter. K-netizens commented on loving Irene's "guts" for refusing to take masks off.
Fans comment on Red Velvet Irene's leadership skills
Red Velvet dazzled in white dresses and complimentary white masks at the red carpet of the 11th Gaon Chart Music Awards. While on the red carpet, photographers and reporters constantly requested the group members to remove their masks and pose for the cameras.
Everyone looked to Irene, the leader, for her instruction, and she refused, making an X mark with her hands. Seulgi also joined her and made an even bigger gesture denying the request.
After multiple refusals, the group's members reluctantly took their masks off, but their discomfort was apparent. Smiles left a majority of members’ faces, especially Irene’s. The awkwardness and being forced to comply with something that could potentially harm her teammates was apparent on the leader’s face.
Irene’s decision to make her members feel safe and not give in to the photographers’ requests was hailed by fans. They also lashed out at the staff for forcing the group to remove their masks and for not caring about health repercussions.
Leader Irene outrightly refusing to take off masks became a heated topic of discussion, as COVID-19 cases in South Korea have spiked over the past month. January started with around 3,000 new cases, to 5,800 by mid-month, 8,566 cases on January 23, and 17,540 on January 28.
K-pop idols who tested positive for COVID have continued to make headlines over the past couple of weeks, with members from Kep1er, THE BOYZ, WINNER and other groups reported to have tested positive.
Meanwhile, Red Velvet won the Artist of the Year - Digital Music Monthly (August) award for Queendom at the 11th Gaon Chart Music Awards.
