On this day, the charity event Love Your W 2025, organized by the leading fashion magazine W кσяєα on October 15, became the center of criticism and controversy. This event has been a well-known annual charity gathering in the industry, and W кσяєα even claims that it is “the largest charity event in кσяєα.”

The purpose of this 20-year-old campaign is to support screening and treatment costs for women and low-income families, and to raise awareness of the importance of early detection. According to W кσяєα’s official report, a total of 1.1 billion won has been donated, and about 500 readers have benefited from specialized вяєαѕт screening programs since 2006, when “Love Your W” was launched.

Although the figure seems quite impressive, fans have raised serious questions when comparing the so-called “largest charity event in кσяєα” with other similar charity programs. For example, “Pink Run”, a running event organized by the кσяєα вяєαѕт Cancer Foundation to promote вяєαѕт health awareness, has raised 4.2 billion won over the past 24 years.

In this comparison, some netizens even accused that “celebrities have contributed less than ordinary people.” However, this accusation is not accurate, as Dispatch uncovered the shady dealings of the “Love Your W” organizers on the 17th. The real issue does not lie with the idols, but rather in how W кσяєα has handled the donated funds over the years.

According to Dispatch, the artists who attended the event received no appearance fee. They participated out of sympathy for the charitable purpose of the program. Even expenses for makeup, hairstyling, and part of their outfits were covered by the artists themselves. W кσяєα used the pretext of “charity” to invite celebrities to attend the event for free.

Instead, W кσяєα received donations from major brands. Dispatch confirmed that 29 major brands, including Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Saint Laurent, Cartier, and others, took part. Fashion brands contributed about 30 million won, while jewelry brands donated around 5 million won. In addition, W кσяєα promoted other brands such as Dyson, Moët & Chandon, and Perfumer H.

Through this, W кσяєα is said to have raised nearly 1 billion won in sponsorship funds. However, the total donation amount that Doosan Magazine (W кσяєα’s parent company) has announced as “collected over the past 20 years” is only about 1.1 billion won, which means less than 50 million won per year on average. Details regarding how these donations were used have never been transparently disclosed.

This huge discrepancy between income and expenditure ѕнσ¢кed netizens. They realized that even the idols themselves might have been unknowingly exploited for their goodwill.

After all, W кσяєα is a leading fashion magazine that works with many celebrities in the industry. The event has a 20-year history, and its original purpose was socially meaningful. That is also why, by the 20th year, questions about the event’s credibility and the truth behind it have finally surfaced.

Netizens expressed their anger toward W кσяєα after Dispatch revealed this noteworthy information:

- W кσяєα вяєαѕт ¢αи¢єя awareness campaign raised ₩1.1B yet instead of funding education, treatment, or real support, the money went to lavish parties. They threw a party for celebrities who probably couldn’t name a single вяєαѕт ¢αи¢єя organization. So much performative activism

- 1.1b won from 20 whole years? Not just from this year’s event? Where is 19b won left?

- The one that deserves the criticism is that W magazine, not the artists — yet people keep attacking them instead. On X, some even take this chance to ѕєχually harαѕѕ the artists, especially female idols. Karina is a clear example — scrolling through posts about her, you can see disturbing comments about her chest, even though her dress was simple and not revealing at all.

- Dispatch says luxury brands gave almost 1 billion won ($750k) to the party this year. W кσяєα claims they’ve donated only 1.1 billion won ($775k) total in 20 years. I really wanna know where’s the rest?

- The real problem isn’t the artists — it’s W кσяєα using their names and faces to make money off a so-called charity event

- These idols showed up for free, thinking they were helping a good cause, while W кσяєα was the one cashing in on brand sponsorships

- W кσяєα exploited the goodwill of celebrities to boost their own image and profits. I wonder if they spent all 1.9 billion won on those parties or what. That can’t be right, since the artists attended without asking for any payment — some agencies even had to donate to get their artists invited, and the stars paid for their own outfits and makeup. It’s clear that W кσяєα pocketed the money.

- People need to stop blaming the artists. They were manipulated by W кσяєα, which turned a charity event into a luxury party for profit

Meanwhile, when contacted by the media, a representative from W кσяєα declined to comment. So far, they have remained silent in the face of all accusations. However, this silence cannot last long, as the issue is not only about the charity funds but also about how the event itself is structured.

It is understandable that celebrities gather to promote a campaign and raise funds, but this year’s event—supposedly held to raise awareness of вяєαѕт ¢αи¢єя—felt more like a star-studded party. There were very few activities before or after the event that aligned with its original charitable goals. They even failed to monitor the song lyrics performed during the event, which were considered inappropriate. What netizens saw was W кσяєα simply letting the stars drink, listen to music, take photos, and socialize.

The social media promotional images had no meaningful content related to awareness, except for a single hashtag, #вяєαѕтCancerAwarenessCampaign. This led some people to question whether Love Your W could truly lead efforts to raise вяєαѕт ¢αи¢єя awareness.

In addition, it was disappointing that there were no specific dress codes for guests, such as wearing pink attire or pink ribbons—the international symbol representing the campaign.

Love Your W, which brings together top celebrities, could have been a golden opportunity to make a positive impact. However, it was downplayed as a mere party and has now become a negative event. As an annual campaign, it is time to clearly redefine its direction and reaffirm its charitable mission.

In particular, there were very few activities before or after the event—which was supposed to “promote early detection and treatment of вяєαѕт ¢αи¢єя as well as raise awareness of women’s health.” This made some people question whether Love Your W can truly lead efforts in raising вяєαѕт ¢αи¢єя awareness.

Even among the celebrities attending the event—and even in W кσяєα’s own videos—it is difficult to find any information about the event’s purpose. This event will certainly be compared with other charity-driven initiatives. Singer Sean, who consistently raises funds through marathons, and Sooyoung of Girls’ Generation, an ambαѕѕador for the Awoolim Marathon for the visually impaired, are exemplary figures representing events that genuinely promote charitable activities, donations, awareness, and positive influence.