STEALING CREDIT?: Koreans are proud of movie Parasite's Oscar breakthroughs, but some netizens have heaped shame on South Korean actress Honey Lee.

The 36-year-old turned up at an Oscars after-party where she cosied up to Parasite director Bong Joon-ho. She posted a wefie with him, with her holding two Oscar statuettes, writing: "People might think that I won this award. So I am very happy. I'm done sleeping for tonight."

According to the entertainment news portal allkpop, that upset netizens who blasted her for trying to cash in on other people's hard work. Parasite won Best Movie, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature Film in Sunday's Oscars ceremony.

Lee, responding to the criticism, has issued an online apology, saying that she was at the party to only congratulate "my seniors and colleagues". "I'm sorry (if there are people) who feel uncomfortable looking at my photos," she added, noting that she was just showing her pride over the historic Korean victories.

"I send my blessings to all those who are writing the history of Korean cinema and hope that they receive congratulations and honour."

But other netizens feel that Lee - who has removed the photos from her Instagram account - has done nothing wrong in posting pictures. "It's normal for her to be overjoyed and to want to share it on her social media. Why can't people just let other people be happy?" one person wrote.

Another person noted that Lee is already an accomplished artist who, apart from acting, has performed in concerts and recorded albums. Last year, she starred in box-office hit Extreme Job and TV drama The Fiery Priest. Others pointed out that Lee was not chasing fame or money, referring to her revelation last month that she had donated all her earnings from her fan meet and film Black Money to various charities.