Why is Cha Eun-woo being discussed in politics? Controversy erupts following female Korean politician Ahn Gwi-ryeong's ideal type choice

Recently, Cha Eun-woo's name began to pop up on the topic of Korean politics. This came after the Democratic Party of Korea announced the Korean politician, Ahn Gwi-ryeong's nomination to run as a representative of the Dobong-gu, a progressive political party, for the upcoming general elections, scheduled to take place on April 10.

This led to a controversy, with many believing that her nomination was purely due to the alleged favoritism she earned from Lee Jae-myung, the current leader of the party. The issue was brought to light by a comment made by her rival, People Power Party Interim Chair Han Dong-hoon, in an interview Ahn Gwi-ryeong gave a year ago to the variety program host, Neighborhood.

The female politician, who played a game called "Ideal Type World Cup," was made to choose who was closer to her ideal type between two well-known figures. When she had to choose between Lee Jae-myung and Cha Eun-woo, she chose Lee Jae-myung.

Han Dong-hoon thought it was apparently quite unlikely for someone to choose anyone over the K-drama actor, and he thereby called her out for trying to get on Lee Jae-myung's good side.

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Cha Eun-woo's name discussed in politics as interview of politician Ahn Gwi-ryeong's on her ideal type resurfaces

Cha Eun-woo is one of the most popular celebrities in Korea, who has earned recognition in both the music and film industries. Despite his immense popularity, what fans didn't expect was the idol being brought up on issues concerning politics. However, many are glad that there is no direct involvement of the idol in the controversy that was sparked by recent developments in Korean politics.

Back in February 2022, Ahn Gwi-ryeong, an anchor-turned-politician, sat down for an interview with the Korean channel, Neighbourhood, where she played the game called Ideal Type World Cup. The game involved choosing the person that best matched her ideal type between two celebrities, and the last standing celebrity became the winner of the ideal type match.

Mid-way through the game, she had to choose between Cha Eun-woo and Lee Jae-myung, the current leader of the Democratic Party of Korea. The politician ended up choosing Lee Jae-myung, who also eventually took the position as her ideal type. This answer surprised the staff members, who found the choice quite unexpected.

While netizens eventually forgot about this interview, following the recent the announcement about Ahn Gwi-ryeong running as the party's representative for the April 10 general elections, the video resurfaced on the internet. Her rival party member, Han Dong-hoon, commented on the interview by claiming how the interview was a strategy to nominate her for the upcoming elections.

Here's what he stated:

"If there was a candidate in the People Power Party who told me I (looked better) than Cha Eun-woo then they would never be nominated. It seems Lee’s Democratic Party has become a jungle, where only brownnosers who can pick Lee’s nose for him on his behalf and say that he looks better than Cha Eun-woo can survive."

However, Ahn Gwi-ryeong soon fired back at the comment, stating that he shouldn't be looking at a fun interview as a documentary.

"It is not Han’s job to turn an entertainment variety show into a documentary or bad-mouth the main opposition party. I hope he focuses on improving the livelihoods of the people rather than on such bickering."

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While the controversy has been gaining heat, with Cha Eun-woo's name closely related to the events being discussed, Fantiago Entertainment, the idol's agency, is yet to respond to the same.