Super Junior's Choi Siwon calls on Incheon to admit fault over Liberation Day banner

Super Junior member Choi Siwon has continued to criticize Incheon over a controversy surrounding a distorted Taegukgi design on a Liberation Day banner.

On Monday, Choi posted on social media: "I believe that acknowledging and correcting what went wrong is a more responsible attitude than offering explanations."

Alongside the post, he shared side-by-side images of a Liberation Day commemorative poster from last year's National Council for Unification, a printed item from Seongnam's Liberation Day ceremony and the recently disputed banner Incheon put up for the 81st Liberation Day anniversary.

Choi drew an implicit comparison by placing images of a girl holding a Taegukgi — all in a similar composition — next to examples where the flag was depicted correctly.

Incheon had defended the banner, saying it was not a drawing error but an artistic rendering of an independence activist waving the flag as seen from below.

However, as the controversy persisted, the city determined the image could cause misunderstanding and took the banner down Saturday.

The city had hung the banner near a crosswalk behind Incheon City Hall on Thursday to mark the 81st Liberation Day, depicting an independence activist waving the Taegukgi with both hands. Critics argued that the flag's design and its four trigrams — geon, gon, gam and ri — were inverted.

Fellow Super Junior member Kim Heechul responded Saturday on social media with a blunt, expletive-laden post expressing outrage, and Choi showed support by leaving a Taegukgi emoji on the post.

Kim walked back his criticism the following day, Sunday, saying he "got angry in the moment after only looking at the Taegukgi design without properly recognizing the form of a person holding the flag." He added: "It is clearly my fault, brought on by a lack of spatial awareness and hastiness. I am sorry."