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K-pop star Hwasa was reportedly interviewed by authorities after being accused of making a sexual gesture while performing at a South Korean college earlier this year.
According to The Korea Times, the MAMAMOO member was recently brought into Seoul’s Seongdong Police Station for questioning over a May 12 concert at Sungkyunkwan University. The investigation was spurred by a civic group called the Student Parent's Rights Protection Union, who claimed the viral performance was “indecent” and reminiscent of “perverted sexual relationships.”
Their complaint stems from a moment during the 28-year-old’s performance of “Don’t” with rapper Loco, who she collaborated with on the 2018 song. During the song, Hwasa supposedly licked her fingers and gestured around her groin area. Hwasa was also apparently being filmed at the time for Dancing Queens of the Road, a variety show featuring five female K-pop idols. The lead up to the offending moment was edited into a fan cam, posted on Twitter:
Per Hwasa’s management company, P NATION, she has been fully cooperating with police. She also reportedly used her recent appearance on singer Sung Si-kyung’s YouTube channel to talk about the incident, saying that while she usually doesn’t “pay that much attention to hate comments... they were quite malicious this time."
The Korea Times said that authorities are currently deciding whether to prosecute the star. If found guilty, she could serve up a maximum of one year in jail or be forced to pay a fine of up to 5 million won, or approximately $3,800 U.S.