Comedian Kim Shin-young apologized to the virtual idol group Plave and its fans on Monday after she came under fire for making "disrespectful" comments about the virtual boy band.

During a segment on MBC FM4U’s music program on Sunday, which Kim hosted, the comedian said that she was not used to virtual idol culture after listening to Plave’s latest song "Dash."


“To be honest, Plave can't be on our show,” Kim said during the radio broadcast. “I think I'd be really embarrassed if Plave stars in the show because I would have to pretend I could see the artists when, in reality, I wouldn't see anyone in the studio."

“I know that I have to embrace new culture but I’m [not used to it],” Kim added.

Following such remarks, Plave's fans took to Kim’s social media accounts and the official website of her radio program and left comments, demanding Kim’s departure from the show, according to local media on Monday.

As a result, Kim deleted all the posts from her social media accounts.

Amid backlash from the virtual idol group’s fandom, Kim apologized on her radio show the following day.

“Many listeners said that my comments were unfair and not objective,” Kim said on Monday. “I accept all the criticism and apologize to the artists and their fans who were hurt by my remarks.”

“Through this incident, I learned that I should be more responsible for my words as the host. I was behind the times and rude,” Kim added.

Plave is a five-member virtual boy band — with real people behind the group. It was created by Vlast, a tech startup that began as a special project from television broadcaster MBC in 2021.

By winning MBC’s weekly music show “Show! Music Core” on March 9 last year with “Way 4 Luv” (2024), Plave became the first-ever virtual idols to take the No. 1 prize on one of Korea’s regular television music programs.

Plave’s latest EP, “Caligo Pt.1,” sold 1.03 million copies within the first week of its release, according to its agency Vlast on Feb. 10.

BY YOON SEUNG-JIN [yoon.seungjin@joongang.co.kr]