Youngest-ever South Korean election candidate to debut as J-pop idol
He’s won his audience over this time, albeit in a different line of work.
When South Korea lowered the minimum age for candidates in general and regional elections from 25 to 18 in 2022, Oh Shin-haeng, who was 18 at the time, drew attention for being the youngest contender running for a local council seat.
He ran as an independent candidate for a seat representing Muan County Council’s second electoral district in South Jeolla Province but finished last with less than six per cent of the vote.
According to The Korea Herald, he has remained active in youth and civic initiatives, serving as youth committee chair of the Jeonnam Coalition for Climate Crisis Carbon Neutrality 2050 and overseeing an international volunteer programme in Uganda.
This year, Shin-haeng competed as a trainee in Produce 101 Japan Shinsekai, a reality competition show which has formed popular J-pop groups such as JO1 and ME:I in its previous editions.
The series aired its final episode on June 6, and he finished fourth place, reportedly winning nearly 500,000 votes and making it to the final 12-member line-up.
The group has been named KO1Keyz, and he will be one of the two South Korean members, with the other being 23-year-old Park Si-young, who came in third.
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Le Sserafim’s ex-member Kim Ga-ram now an actress
Four years after her removal from K-pop girl group Le Sserafim, Kim Ga-ram’s showbiz comeback has been confirmed.
The 20-year-old has signed an exclusive contract with acting agency Management Koo.
In a statement to media yesterday (June 16), they said they watched her YouTube videos and were “deeply impressed by her sincere attitude and potential as an actor”.
“Her relentless daily efforts toward her dream played a major role in our decision,” they added.
Ga-ram, who reportedly enrolled in Konkuk University’s Department of Media Acting in 2024, opened a YouTube channel in March this year and has posted eight vlogs capturing her daily life.
In the most recent one uploaded on June 12, she studied in a cafe before going for an acting lesson, practising the guitar at home and having dinner with her family.
Management Koo said she has been training and putting in effort to make up for her “shortcomings”, in addition to studying English, Japanese and learning the guitar.
Ga-ram debuted as a Le Sserafim member on May 2, 2022, with Sakura Miyawaki, Kazuha Nakamura, Kim Chae-won, Huh Yun-jin and Hong Eun-chae.
She faced bullying allegations shortly after and was put on an indefinite hiatus on May 20.
The group’s agency Source Music announced their decision to terminate her contract on July 20 that same year.
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syarifahsn@asiaone.com
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