A K-pop star has issued a handwritten apology to angry fans who accused her of betrayal and threatened to stop attending her concerts because she has a boyfriend.

South Korean singer Karina, who fronts the girl group Aespa, has promised fans she will “heal the wounds” after it emerged last week that she is dating the actor Lee Jae-wook.

Some fans drove a truck to the headquarters of SM Entertainment, which formed and manages Aespa, with an electronic sign attached demanding an apology, South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo reports.

The message read: “Is the love to you by your fans not enough? Why did you choose to betray the fans? Please apologise directly. Otherwise, you will see a decrease in album sales and empty concert seats.”

In a handwritten note posted from her Instagram account on Wednesday, Karina, whose real name is Yu Ji-min, wrote: “I apologise for surprising you greatly”.

She added: “I know very well how disappointed [my fans] who have supported me are and how upset you’re thinking about the memories we shared together.”

The 23-year-old also told her 12.7 million followers: “I want to make up for my hurt fans from now on. I have always been sincere to you, and still each and every one of you are truly precious to me.”

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Karina also promised to “show more maturity and work harder going forward to all [my fans] without disappointment.”

The singer’s relationship with Jae-wook is not the first time such a controversy has emerged among K-pop fans in South Korea and Japan.

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K-pop agencies are reportedly keen to promote their stars as romantically obtainable, while in Japan many pop stars have “no dating” clauses in their contracts.

A decade ago it was normal for K-pop agencies to ban new stars from relationships or even having a mobile phone – and nowadays admissions of a relationship are still considered a scandal among fans.

In 2018, the stock of record label Cube Entertainment dropped several points after two of their artists, Hyuna and E-Dawn, began dating.

Despite the backlash Karina has experienced, many of her Instagram followers shared messages of support.

One wrote: “Apologise for loving someone? You don’t need to do this, you deserve to be happy.”

Another added: “There’s no way she’s apologising for dating. What’s wrong with people?”.