SM Entertainment is drawing backlash for allegedly excluding aespa member Winter in a promotional photo for their first documentary film. Keep on reading for all the details.

SM Entertainment Garners Backlash for Excluding aespa Winter in Promotional Photo

On February 7, 2024, a post titled "Yah, did Winter drop out from aespa?" was uploaded to a popular South Korean community forum.

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The author included a photo of the Lotte Cinema exclusive signature art card for the girl group's first documentary film, "aespa: MY First Page." This serves as the movie poster for those watching the film at any Lotte Cinema.

OP (original poster) noted that only three members were seen in the photo; SM Entertainment had forgotten to include Winter. They wondered if the photo was taken from a concert in which Winter did not take part.

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However, it was soon discovered that it was taken during the first day of their tour in Seoul, and Winter performed alongside her other aespa members. Besides excluding Winter, they also slammed the design for being bad.

The post soon garnered traction on the community forum, gathering over 69,000 likes and hundreds of comments.

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Many people agreed with the netizen, stating that this is overboard. To start, aespa only has four members. With such a small line-up, they wondered how they could forget one of their most popular members. Netizens slammed SM Entertainment for being sloppy in their work.

Some joked that they wish they could work under SM Entertainment, as it seems they do not mind their employees slacking and do not manage their affairs properly.

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Some comments read,

• "This is extreme. aespa only has four members, and yet they chose the version with a missing member as a special photo?"
• "This company is seriously sloppy at doing their job."
• "How frustrating. They didn't even include Winter's birthday in the official schedule."
• "I want to work under SM. If I'm late, they would even delay the artist's MV for me. They don't manage their affairs properly. And yet I probably won't get fired."

What do you think of the situation? Tell us in the comments below!

aespa Recent Activities

In February, aespa's first documentary film, "aespa: MY First Page," will be released exclusively at Lotte Cinemas.

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On January 15, aespa released a remake of "Regret of Times." The song was originally sang by Seo Taiji and Boys.

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Written by Alexa Lopez