Virtual model for the Korea Tourism Organization, which cost $500,000 to produce, under fire for resembling Red Velvet's Irene

A virtual influencer and promotion model, named Lizzie Yeo, is under fire for her close resemblance to Red Velvet's Irene. 

The virtual character was created by the Korea Tourism Organization to act its honorary ambassador, and cost approximately 800 million KRW (~ $557,000 USD) to produce. After starring in various promotional content for Korean tourism since July, Lizzie Yeo began to garner attention for her odd resemblance to well-known female celebrities, including Irene and singer/actress Kwon Nara. 

The character even received criticism from the Culture, Sports, and Tourism Committee for this controversy, as one committee member observed while comparing a photo of Lizzie Yeo side by side with Irene, "The one on the left side is Yeo Lizzie, and the one on the right side is Irene. They look the same. There are serious concerns over one's portrait rights here."

The committee also claimed, "The character resembles Irene and Kwon Nara too closely. The character was apparently created with features which were deemed as popular among the MZ generations, but this virtual character is creating unrealistic expectations about beauty."

Furthermore, Lizzie Yeo also faced accusations of fabricating her SNS followers. The Korea Tourism Organization admitted that SNS followers were purchased through a marketing platform, and since, 8,000 followers have been deleted from Lizzie Yeo's SNS.