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H1-Key's agency won't fire Thai idol Sitala despite her father's anti-democratic acts

Fans claim that Sitala and her father supported the ongoing military dictatorship in Thailand

We have had several rookie groups debuting at the end of the year or set to debut in early 2022 that has fans excited. Among them are the likes of IVE, Kep1er, JYPn and H1-Key. Unfortunately, H1-Key and their agency are under fire due to one of the member’s political affiliations. Thai K-pop fans unearthed information and claimed that Sitala was problematic because her father had participated in anti-democratic campaigns in Thailand.

Thailand is going through a political crisis since the Royal Thai Armed Forced launched a coup and took over the government of Thailand in 2014. It is currently under a military dictatorship with General Prayut Chan-o-cha declaring himself the Prime Minister of the country. And while the majority of the country is protesting for it to end and for the country to return to parliamentary democracy, there are still some citizens called the Royalists or Elitists who favor the current rule.

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Sitala and her father said to support the military rule

After learning of this, several Thai and non-Thai netizens protested to H1-Key’s agency, Grand Line Group to remove Sitala from the K-pop girl group. They claimed that she supported her father who was an elitist and was also in favor of Thailand’s military rule. Due to the constant clamor, on December 8, Grand Line Group released a statement trying to clarify the situation and take action which has the fandom divided.

H1-Key's label takes action

The label started off by apologizing for hurting and offending those who had been affected by the situation and that they wished for peace in Thailand. They explained that the issue of Sitala’s father’s involvement in Thailand’s politics, economy and society was quite complex and hence Grand Line took a longer time to understand it and take adequate action. They shared that they had investigated her father, his actions and his influence on Sitala when she was a minor and came to the conclusion that it was wrong to blame her for her father’s actions.

They said, “It would be extreme to hold Sitala responsible for events which she did not have a role in. As a result, there will be no member changes to H1-Key.” They tried to clarify that Sitala chose her father as a role model due to his art career as an actor and director and that she was “reflecting on herself while...learning about the reality of Thailand’s political climate.” It should be noted that Sitala is already a prominent celebrity in Thailand with an established modeling career.

'She has caused a lot of pain'

The fandom was divided as some did not understand why she was being blamed for her father, “Are they seriously hating on her for something her father did?” Another fan posted, “Would be wrong to put Sitala in a situation of disadvantage solely due to the actions of her late father she is still young and does not understand politics. Let her start a new life in the world of K-pop, and don't be harsh with her.”

But some fans are still angry as one shared, “She has caused a lot of pain to Thai people. She killed the future of her own generation by being the one who opened the key to lead the authoritarian government into the country. But she's going to act out her dreams. It's not fair to us. We are ready to support Thai people who are singers in Korea but not people like her.” Another explained that they were angry because she too supported the military rule according to her social media, “Not only her father ..she also.”