KATHMANDU: In light of BTS's Jungkook's involvement in the Itaewon social distancing controversy, netizens have submitted a petition at the Blue House asking that Jungkook's Order of Cultural Merit medal be revoked.

Allkpop states that on May 18 a petition was submitted to the Blue House with the title 'Please revoke BTS Jungkook's Order of Cultural Merit medal'. The outlet quotes the petition as stating "Big Hit Entertainment artiste BTS's Jungkook and his three idol friends went to an Itaewon nightlife eatery while many people in the country are trying to overcome the global coronavirus epidemic."

The petition goes on to state his actions "disregard the efforts of the public and officials who have tried to overcome the virus so far, and does not match the purpose of the medal which is awarded to those with outstanding achievements that contributed to national development."

It concludes asking for Jungkook's medal to revoked.

Along with Jungkook, three other idols NCT's Jaehyun, ASTRO's Cha Eunwoo, and SEVENTEEN's Mingkyu are under heavy netizen criticism after it was reported they were present at an establishment where a coronavirus positive individual was present during the social distancing period.

BTS was awarded the Order of Cultural Merit medal in 2018 for their contributions to Korean culture and the spread of K-pop throughout the world.