SHINee’s Minho completed his first full marathon in 3 hours, 00 minutes and 18 seconds at the '2026 JTBC Seoul Marathon' on November 1. The next day, a video appeared to show a pacemaker pushing him in the back with his hand during the race, sparking controversy over a possible rule violation. On November 3, Minho posted an apology and said he would not accept his result from the marathon. What were people saying on social media over those three days?
Using Hashscraper Social Listening, we collected 1,492 posts from 12 channels, including blogs, news, cafes, communities, Reddit, YouTube, TikTok, X, Instagram and Threads, from October 31 through the night of November 3. We analyzed 856 relevant posts that mentioned both Minho and the marathon. AI read 849 of them individually and classified their sentiment as positive, neutral or negative. We also categorized what people discussed using seven topics selected by AI.
Definition. Social listening involves collecting posts from blogs, communities, social media and news outlets to analyze how often a person or brand is mentioned (mention volume), what words appear alongside them (associated terms), and the tone of the discussion (sentiment).
Definition. Topic-level sentiment analysis involves AI reading a sample of posts and selecting topics, then classifying each analyzed post by the topics it addresses and the sentiment expressed toward each topic.
Definition. Issue monitoring involves tracking social listening data by date as an event unfolds. It shows when, on which channels and in what terms public opinion changes.
[Social listening summary of SHINee Minho’s marathon controversy — 856 relevant posts, 14.29 million total views, peak of 438 posts on November 3, and X as the most-mentioned channel with 184 posts](images/044/01_요약.png)
TL;DR
- The mood shifted from celebration to controversy in a day. On race day (November 1), 51% of the 71 relevant posts analyzed for sentiment were positive. On November 2, when the video spread, the number of posts rose to 342 and negative sentiment climbed to 40%.
- The issue was about 'rules' rather than 'feelings'. The most discussed AI-selected topic was 'fairness of the finishing result' (574 posts, 280 negative). Only 40 posts addressed 'celebrity participants’ responsibility'.
- The apology drew the biggest response. An X post sharing the apology drew the largest response of the issue, with approximately 1.49 million views and 4,100 likes. 'Apology and refusal to accept the result' was the only topic with more positive posts (58) than negative ones (18).
1. Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| November 1 | Minho completed his first full marathon at the 2026 JTBC Seoul Marathon in 3 hours, 00 minutes and 18 seconds. He missed sub-3 (under three hours) by 18 seconds. |
| November 2 | A video appearing to show a pacemaker pushing Minho in the back with his hand was posted to online communities. World Athletics technical rules list physical assistance that provides propulsion in the direction of running as grounds for disqualification. Arguments that "he should be disqualified" were met with objections that "that’s excessive for a race he entered as a hobby." (OSEN) |
| November 3 | Minho posted an apology on Instagram. He said, "Everything happened because of my own shortcomings" and "I, too, will not accept the result of this marathon." (Herald Economy, Ilgan Sports) |
As of the time of writing, no official ruling by the race organizers had been reported.
2. Mention volume — Fivefold jump on November 2
[Daily mention volume for SHINee Minho’s marathon controversy — 72 posts on November 1, 342 on November 2 and 438 on November 3](images/044/02_언급량_추이.png)
▲ The graph stacks the number of relevant posts each day by channel group. Posts for November 3 were collected until around 11 p.m.
| Date | Relevant posts | Leading channels |
|---|---|---|
| October 31 | 4 | Day before the race |
| November 1 | 72 | X: 32 posts — fans’ congratulations and photos from the event |
| November 2 | 342 | YouTube: 102, X: 55, communities: 52, cafes: 37, news: 27 |
| November 3 | 438 | Naver blogs: 132, X: 97, cafes: 49, YouTube: 45 |
- Video and communities drove November 2 activity. There were 102 YouTube posts that reposted short videos. A post titled "Causing an uproar in the running community" spread across X, cafes and YouTube.
- Blogs surged on November 3. A day later, 132 Naver blog posts summarizing the apology and news articles appeared.
- The relevant posts had a combined total of approximately 14.29 million views. X accounted for 8.85 million and YouTube for 3.98 million.
3. Sentiment — From 51% positive to 40% negative
[Daily sentiment for SHINee Minho’s marathon controversy — 51% positive on November 1, 40% negative on November 2 and 34% negative on November 3](images/044/03_긍부정_추이.png)
▲ Based on 849 relevant posts classified by AI.
| Date | Classified posts | Positive | Neutral | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 1 | 71 | 51% | 42% | 7% |
| November 2 | 339 | 7% | 53% | 40% |
| November 3 | 435 | 7% | 58% | 34% |
| Total | 849 | 11% | 55% | 34% |
- The positive sentiment on November 1 came from fans’ congratulations. Posts such as "Even while exhausted, he immediately broke into a bright smile when he heard ‘Go, Choi Minho!’" received around 700 likes.
- The 34% negative figure for November 3 should not be taken at face value. News articles and summaries reporting the apology were also classified as negative because of words such as "disappointed," "ashamed" and "sorry." Reactions to the apology are examined separately in the topic-level analysis in the next section.
4. What people discussed — The issue was 'rules'
Seven topics selected by AI
AI read a sample of 100 posts and selected seven topics. It then classified each of 847 relevant posts by the topics it addressed and the sentiment toward those topics. If a post addressed multiple topics, it was counted under each one.
[Topic-level sentiment for SHINee Minho’s marathon controversy — 280 of 574 posts about fairness of the finishing result were negative; apology and refusal to accept the result had 58 positive posts versus 18 negative](images/044/05_주제별_긍부정.png)
▲ Sentiment by topic. Green is positive and red is negative.
| Topic | Posts | Positive | Negative | In brief |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairness of the finishing result | 574 | 2 | 280 | The most discussed topic. The debate centered on whether a result achieved with assistance could be recognized. |
| Rules governing physical contact | 357 | 0 | 49 | Most were neutral, with many posts explaining World Athletics rules. |
| Scope of a pacemaker’s role | 294 | 0 | 70 | Posts examined the boundary between setting the pace and physically pushing someone. |
| Apology and refusal to accept the result | 222 | 58 | 18 | The only topic with more positive than negative posts. The apology and refusal to accept the result were received favorably. |
| Applying rules to amateur races | 100 | 0 | 17 | Posts asked, "Should elite rules be applied unchanged to a race someone entered as a hobby?" |
| Celebrity participants’ responsibility | 40 | 0 | 29 | Few in number, but the most critical. Posts pointed out that a result could be used for publicity. |
Of the AI-selected topics, 'race-related traffic disruption' was omitted from the table because it appeared in only six relevant posts (71 posts across the full collection — mostly about traffic controls on race day).
In short: "The result is hard to recognize, but the apology was well handled." The controversy focused more on the result and the rules than on Minho personally.
Associated terms
| Rank | Associated term | Posts mentioning it | Rank | Associated term | Posts mentioning it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Controversy | 542 | 9 | Help | 283 |
| 2 | JTBC | 495 | 10 | Scene | 251 |
| 3 | Full marathon | 441 | 11 | Rules | 248 |
| 4 | Result | 410 | 12 | Assistance | 232 |
| 5 | Finish | 391 | 13 | Push | 207 |
| 6 | Race | 382 | 14 | Violation | 181 |
| 7 | Seoul Marathon | 343 | 15 | Not accept | 179 |
| 8 | Sub | 310 | 16 | World Athletics | 169 |
Based on all 1,492 collected posts. A term is counted once per post, even if it appears multiple times.
Rule-related terms such as rules, assistance, violation, World Athletics and physical (148) ranked high. Rather than focusing on "a celebrity did something wrong," the controversy centered on "whether that scene constituted grounds for disqualification under the rules." The apology’s phrase "will not accept" also quickly rose among the top associated terms.
Posts containing issue-related expressions
We counted posts containing expressions related to each issue among 478 relevant posts on channels where opinions are frequently exchanged (X, communities, cafes, Threads, TikTok, Instagram and Reddit). A post containing multiple issues was counted under each one.
| Issue | November 1 | November 2 | November 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rules or disqualification raised (disqualification, foul, rule violation, invalid result) | 0 | 125 | 58 |
| Defense saying "it’s excessive" or "he didn’t know" (a stretch, witch hunt, hobby, muddying the waters) | 3 | 16 | 18 |
| Congratulations or support for finishing | 13 | 9 | 2 |
| Praise for the apology (clean, acknowledgement, reflection, sportsman) | 4 | 5 | 11 |
| Criticism of celebrity favoritism (emperor marathon, privilege) | 0 | 14 | 2 |
What people actually said on social media
Posts pointing to the rules
- "SHINee Minho marathon controversy causing an uproar in the running community … allegations that pacemakers physically helped him from behind (a rule violation)" — X, approximately 820,000 views
- "Given that celebrities could use their result as a selling point, people seem to be judging it more strictly" — Threads
- "When going uphill, even just putting a hand on someone lets the person in front climb without effort … so that’s a foul" — Cafe
Posts saying the reaction was excessive or that he did not know
- "I didn’t know that was a problematic action … I only learned today that it was grounds for disqualification" — Community
- A minority also argued that operational problems at the same race, including traffic and road management, were being overshadowed by the controversy — Threads and cafes
Posts after the apology
- "It’s admirable that he acknowledged it, apologized and reflected right away" — X, approximately 670,000 views and 1,300 likes
- "A clean apology; he can run again" — X
- "The person involved acknowledged it and apologized clearly" — An addition to an eyewitness account posted in a running cafe by a runner who took part in the race
5. The tone differed by channel
[Sentiment by channel for SHINee Minho’s marathon controversy — communities 62% negative, X 25% positive](images/044/04_채널별_긍부정.png)
▲ Only channels with more than 30 relevant posts are shown.
| Channel | Classified posts | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|
| X | 183 | 25% | 44% |
| YouTube | 163 | 4% | 18% |
| Naver blogs | 136 | 4% | 10% |
| Communities | 100 | 10% | 62% |
| Naver and Daum cafes | 92 | 10% | 41% |
| Naver News | 55 | 2% | 65% |
| Threads | 45 | 18% | 31% |
| TikTok | 32 | 16% | 31% |
- Communities were the sharpest in tone. Negative sentiment was 62%. There were many posts examining the rules and lengthy discussions in the comments. A post sharing a statement in one community received 1,129 comments.
- Both praise and criticism were prominent on X. Support from fan accounts and praise for the apology brought its positive share to 25%, the highest of any channel. At the same time, posts summarizing the controversy spread most widely there.
- The 65% negative figure for news does not represent journalists’ positions. Headlines containing terms such as "disqualification controversy" and "foul" caused the tone of articles to be classified as negative.
- Blogs and YouTube were mostly neutral. Many posts summarized articles or reposted videos.
6. Posts with the biggest response
| Channel | Date | Content | Views | Likes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| X | November 3 | Post sharing the full apology | Approx. 1.49 million | 4,100 |
| X | November 3 | English summary by an overseas K-pop news account | Approx. 1.66 million | 1,800 |
| YouTube | November 2 | Video titled "Latest … people say he should be disqualified" | Approx. 1.51 million | — |
| X | November 2 | Overseas account’s "Disqualification Controversy" summary | Approx. 1.50 million | 895 |
| X | November 2 | "Controversy … causing an uproar in the running community" | Approx. 820,000 | 696 |
| YouTube | November 2 | Local broadcast news video | Approx. 640,000 | — |
| Community | November 3 | Post sharing a statement (1,129 comments) | Approx. 510,000 | 869 |
It spread overseas too. Of the relevant posts, 79 (9%) were in English or Indonesian. Some overseas accounts rendered "will not accept the result" from the apology as "requested disqualification." That wording, which went a step beyond the original, spread overseas and received more than 1.6 million views. It shows how an issue can spread in a form that differs from the original wording after translation.
7. At a glance
| Item | Result |
|---|---|
| Collection period | October 31 through the night of November 3, 2026 |
| Posts collected / analyzed | 1,492 / 856 relevant posts (12 channels) |
| Busiest day | November 3, 438 posts (apology) |
| Day the mood shifted | November 2 — 51% positive → 40% negative |
| Central topic | Fairness of the finishing result (574 posts, 280 negative) |
| Favorably received topic | Apology and refusal to accept the result (58 positive, 18 negative) |
| Sharpest channel | Communities (62% negative) |
| Biggest response | Post sharing the apology (approximately 1.49 million views and 4,100 likes) |
8. Implications — What social data can show when an issue breaks
- You can see where it started. This issue began in communities and short videos, became news within half a day and spread to blogs a day later. Knowing the time lag between channels can help determine where to respond first.
- You can see what is at issue. If topics and associated terms center on 'results and rules', an explanation should also address the rules and facts. An appeal to emotion would miss the point of such a debate.
- You can measure the response immediately. The post sharing the apology drew the biggest response in this issue, and positive sentiment on 'apology and refusal to accept the result' was three times the negative sentiment. Whether the overall negative share declines will require monitoring for a few more days.
- You can spot changes introduced in translation. If wording different from the original spreads overseas, that provides grounds for preparing a separate explanation for international fans and media.
How we made this report
- Enter keywords — We entered the topic "Minho marathon" into Hashscraper Social Listening and added related keywords: "SHINee Minho marathon", "Minho pacemaker", "Minho disqualification", "Minho apology" and "Minho marathon".
- Choose channels and period — We selected 12 channels, October 31 through November 3, 2026, and a maximum of 100 results per search term for each channel (site).
- Collect — We collected the data with one click. A total of 1,492 posts were collected.
- Select relevant posts — We retained only 856 posts that mentioned both Minho (SHINee or Minho) and marathon-related terms (marathon, pacemaker, disqualification, sub-3, full marathon, finish, pushing his back and so on).
- AI sentiment classification — AI classified all collected posts, and we used the results for the 849 relevant posts among them.
- AI topic analysis — AI proposed seven topics and classified the posts again using those topics.
The figures in this article were redrawn from the social listening data using relevant posts as the basis.
Limitations of the analysis
- The search results included unrelated posts. Threads search returned posts matching even one word in a search term, so only 46 of 572 posts concerned this issue. The Korean search term for "Minho apology" also returned posts about apples, since the Korean word for apology also means apple; only 37 of 152 posts were relevant. We therefore selected and analyzed only relevant posts. Only the associated-terms table is based on all collected posts.
- Collection for November 3 stopped before the end of the day.
- Sentiment reflects the tone of the entire post. It is not the same as whether a post criticizes Minho. An article reporting the apology can also be classified as negative.
- Issue-specific post counts are based on searches for expressions. They include posts that merely report an issue, such as "disqualification controversy."
- YouTube posting dates were converted from labels such as "n days ago," so they may be off by about a day.
- Reddit, Blind and Arca Live had only six relevant posts in total, so we did not interpret their percentages.
- The race result and contents of the apology were cited from news reports.
Frequently asked questions
Q. What is the SHINee Minho marathon controversy?
A. After Minho completed his first full marathon in 3 hours, 00 minutes and 18 seconds at the JTBC Seoul Marathon on November 1, a video spread that appeared to show a pacemaker pushing him in the back with his hand. The controversy centered on whether this was grounds for disqualification under World Athletics rules. Minho posted an apology on November 3 and said he would not accept the result.
Q. What was the public reaction on social media?
A. Positive sentiment was 51% on race day, but negative sentiment rose to 40% on November 2, when the video spread. Across all 849 relevant posts analyzed for sentiment, 11% were positive, 55% neutral and 34% negative. By topic, 'fairness of the finishing result' was discussed most, while only 'apology and refusal to accept the result' had more positive than negative posts.
Q. Which channel was the most critical?
A. Communities, where 62% of posts were negative. X had the highest positive share (25%), with many posts supporting Minho and praising the apology.
Q. Can we use this approach if an issue arises for our brand?
A. Yes. Once you set the keywords and period, you can collect posts from 12 channels and examine daily mention volume, sentiment by channel and associated terms in the same way. It can be used for issue response, checking reactions after an explanation and monitoring competing brands.
Conclusion
Minho’s marathon controversy moved from celebration → debate over the rules → apology within three days. Social data clearly shows the day the mood shifted (November 2), the center of the debate (fairness of the finishing result), the sharpest venue (communities) and the post that drew the biggest response (the apology).
An issue can grow in a day and spread at different speeds across channels. Being able to see that flow immediately by date and channel helps you decide what to say, where and when.
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