Plagiarism allegations against IU have been dismissed
Plagiarism claims against Korean actress-singer IU have been dismissed after the investigative agency deemed that it had no legal basis.
Her agency EDAM Entertainment announced the good news on Monday, Sept. 4, as reported by South Korean media Soompi.
“A criminal allegation was filed against our artist IU (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Artist’) with the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul for allegedly infringing the copyrights of six musical works,” the agency wrote.
They furthered that they submitted four legal briefs through their representative, Shinwon LLC, to “strongly assert” that the allegations that were thrown at the K-pop star had “no legal basis and should be dismissed.”
On Aug. 24, the investigative agency deemed that the criminal allegations against IU “did not constitute a crime,” hence dismissing it.
“In order for copyright infringement to be recognized under the Copyright Act, an author must create a work that is substantially similar to another author’s existing work without permission,” the agency stressed.
To recall, IU faced plagiarism allegations on her six songs, such as The Red Shoes, Good Day, and Celebrity, among others.
“However, the Artist never participated in composing the five songs that were the subject of the criminal allegation,” it continued, adding that the IU did not participate as well in a part of the sixth song.
“However, the accuser either did not properly understand the Copyright Act or despite being aware of this fact, filed the criminal allegation simply to maliciously harass the Artist,” the agency added.
They also noted that they had requested a full investigation to look into posted videos and texts made by the accuser.
“We will continue to relentlessly pursue acts that damage the character and reputation of the Artist until the end to prevent their recurrence and will strict civil and criminal liability in accordance with the ‘zero tolerance principle,’” they concluded their statement.
EDAM Agency first addressed the plagiarism issues against IU in May, after an anonymous individual reported that the K-pop star allegdely “[violated] the copyright law.” The agency, on the other hand, requested an investigation on the matter and asserted that they would take “strong legal actions” against those who spread the "groundless and false information” against their artist.
IU, whose real name is Park Ji-eun, is known for her songs LILAC, Twenty-three, and Good Day, among others. She is also known for her roles in dramas and films including Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo, Dream High, Hotel del Luna, and Dream with Park Seo-joon.