Seoul, South Korea (CNN) K-pop star Kim Jae-joong has apologized after telling fans on April Fools' Day that he had caught coronavirus.

Kim, who is a singer with boy band JYJ, told his Instagram followers on Wednesday that he was hospitalized after catching the virus, writing: "I'm infected with Covid-19 virus."

In a now-deleted post, the pop star said he had ignored warnings by the government.

April Fools' Day is celebrated on April 1 every year and is traditionally a day when people play pranks on each other.

Many of the star's 1.9 million followers expressed outrage at his remarks, with one social media user writing: "A prank about coronavirus is not funny but childish and senseless."

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