On the 28th, aespa was announced as the recipient of the Platinum Award. During her acceptance speech, Karina expressed her gratitude, saying, "We are so thankful to our fans for this meaningful award. We worked hard on our album last year and will return with even better music this year, so please look forward to it." However, she mistakenly referred to her group as "aespo," causing her to laugh in surprise.
Unable to contain her laughter, Winter stepped in, saying, "Please continue to support aespa..." but she too burst into laughter. Finally, Ningning concluded, "Please continue to love aespa. Arigato gozaimasu."
Meanwhile, Karina recently faced controversy after posting a photo on her social media wearing a red top with the number '2', sparking political speculation.
On the 28th, SM Entertainment clarified, "The photo was simply a casual post with no specific purpose or intent." They added, "We apologize for any concern caused by our artist Karina's post and have removed it upon realizing it could be misunderstood."