"IU Accused of Plagiarism": Six Songs, Including "Good Day," Face Allegations... Agency to Take Legal Action

The plagiarism controversy involving singer IU has resurfaced.

An individual, referred to as Mr. A, lodged a complaint with the police, alleging that IU had plagiarized the musical compositions of another artist. In response to this, IU's agency stated, "We will vigorously pursue legal action against false information, showing no mercy."

 

According to the Seoul Gangnam Police Station on the 10th, Mr. A submitted the complaint on the 8th, citing violations of copyright law. The complaint claimed that six songs by IU, including 'Pink Shoes,' had similarities to the music of both foreign and domestic artists.

 

The songs in question that were the focus of the accusation against IU are 'Pink God,' 'Good Day,' 'Pippi,' 'Pity,' 'Boo,' and 'Celebrity.'

 

The complaint asserted that these songs shared similarities with the original works in terms of melody, rhythm, and chord progressions. Particularly, 'Good Day' and 'Pink Shoes' were highlighted as having considerable similarities even to the general public.

 

 

The claim is that there is suspicion of plagiarism in the introductory parts of all six songs, which play a crucial role in evoking the overall atmosphere and identity of the music, and influencing the audience's curiosity to determine whether they will continue listening to the song.

 

The accusers stated, "There have been multiple allegations of plagiarism in the past, but the accused party (IU) has not provided any explanations and has instead reported social media posts that raise such issues for copyright infringement, resulting in their deletion." They further explained, "In addition to this incident, we decided to press charges due to the lack of general awareness, irrationality, and passive attitudes of the judicial authorities in determining the recognition of copyright infringement and the calculation of damages in numerous other copyright infringement cases."

 

In order to bring charges for a copyright violation offense, a formal complaint by the plaintiff is required to initiate a prosecution. In this case, it is indeed necessary for the original authors who have become victims of plagiarism to file the complaint themselves.

 

However, the law firm representing the plaintiff in this case argued, "Article 140, Clause 1 of the Copyright Act states that it does not apply to those who infringe upon the reproduction, performance, broadcasting, exhibition, distribution, rental, or creation of derivative works for profit or on a habitual basis." They claimed, "Even the accuser who is not the victim has the qualification to file this complaint."

 

 

IU's agency also stated that they are taking legal action. EDAM Entertainment confirmed that they have been observing serious levels of malicious posts repeatedly being published on various online communities and Naver cafes for several months. They stated, "Based on evidence and materials regarding allegations of plagiarism, espionage rumors, sexual harassment, defamation, spreading false information, and invasion of privacy, we have submitted a criminal complaint through a law firm to the investigative authorities."

 

Furthermore, they mentioned, "While waiting for the progress of the investigation, we first became aware of the reported facts through the media, and we are currently grasping the details." They warned, "If malicious posts, such as personal insults and defamation, continue to be repeatedly published or false information is reproduced, we will take strong legal action without leniency."