Iranian model in Korea criticizes Seoul's $500,000 aid package to Iran

Hoda Niku, an Iranian model in Korea, joins a street protest in Seoul, in a photo posted Feb. 14. Niku criticized the Korean government's decision to provide $500,000 humanitarian aid to Iran, claiming it would not reach ordinary citizens. Captured from Hoda Niku's Instagram

An Iranian model and influencer based in Korea openly criticized the Korean government's decision to send humanitarian aid worth $500,000 (735.7 million won) to Iran through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), arguing the funds would not reach ordinary Iranians but instead would support terrorism.

"If you send money to Iran at this time, it will go not to the people but to the dictatorial regime that slaughtered some 40,000 people, to be used for terrorism or weapons purchases," Hoda Niku, who has more than 530,000 Instagram followers, wrote in Korean in a post Wednesday. "Not even a single dollar of that money will reach ordinary citizens."

Niku moved to Korea after placing third in the 2018 Miss Iran pageant and has since been active as a model and TV personality. She is also an outspoken critic of the Iranian government via social media and has participated in public protests in Korea calling for greater international attention to the situation in Iran.

“Iranian people don’t want money or aid; they simply want no support to go to this regime in their name. It's like a bottomless pit. The move is not suitable for the Korean government,” she added.

She later deleted the post on the same day and wrote another clarifying that the intention of her previous comment was to raise awareness of the aid system.

Niku's criticism reflects a sentiment widespread among younger Iranians, for whom distrust of the current regime runs deep. The death of Mahsa Amini in 2022 — while in police custody for allegedly wearing her hijab improperly — ignited mass street protests and brought global scrutiny to the Iranian government's treatment of its citizens. Demonstrations have continued in the years since, met with a crackdown that has claimed many lives.

“Young people in Iran in general don't support the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” Jang Ji-hyang, principal fellow and director of the Center for Regional Studies at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, earlier told The Korea Times. “It killed many young people who are anti-government.”

The Korean government said the aid package is a purely humanitarian measure with no political intent, in response to escalating crises in the Middle East and calls for support from international organizations including the United Nations and the Red Cross. The $500,000 will be channeled through the ICRC in the form of essential relief supplies such as hygiene products and medicine, as part of a broader regional response that also included $2 million in humanitarian aid sent to Lebanon in March.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs later released a statement expressing "regret" over the claims that would distort the international system of humanitarian aid. "The government’s humanitarian aid to Iran will be provided through the ICRC, which carries out aid activities in strict accordance with the internationally established humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence, so there is no possibility that it will be diverted by the Iranian government," it said.

However, not all Iranians in Korea share Niku's reservations and instead welcome the Korean government’s move to help the war-hit nation.

Iranian Canadian Siavash Saffari, a professor at Seoul National University's Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations, said the aid serves both a humanitarian and a diplomatic purpose.

“From a humanitarian perspective, the ICRC's current work in Iran is extremely important. During this war, hundreds of medical centers in Iran were damaged and some of them were completely destroyed. As a result, millions of people in Iran currently don't have adequate access to vital medical services,” Saffari told The Korea Times Thursday.

“From a political perspective, the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran is unpopular in Korea and by supporting the ICRC's operations in Iran, the Korean government is also sending a signal that it doesn’t support this war.”

He also highlighted the need to lift economic sanctions on Iran for the sake of the people there.

“Supporting humanitarian initiatives is necessary, but it's not enough. What is needed is a permanent end to this war, and also an end to the economic sanctions on Iran. Decades of economic sanctions have deteriorated Iran's health sector and made it extremely difficult for Iranians to access life-saving drugs and medical care.”