South Korean K-pop star IU accused of plagiarising songs, warns of legal action over ‘baseless’ rumours

A police report lodged by an unnamed individual claims the opening lines of six of the K-pop star’s songs, including Good Day, Red Shoes and Bbibbi, were reportedly copied
IU has rejected the plagiarism charges, and her agency is vowing legal action

South Korea

SCMP’s Asia desk

Published: 3:42pm, 11 May 2023

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South Korean singer and actress IU is facing accusations of plagiarising six of her past tracks after a police complaint was filed against her in Seoul.

IU, whose real name is Lee Ji-eun, burst on the K-pop scene in 2008 and has written more than 50 songs for her albums, films and other composers.

According to the police report lodged by an unnamed individual, the opening lines of six songs, including Good Day, Red Shoes and Bbibbi, were reportedly copied.

Korean singer/actress IU is facing allegations of plagiarising six of her songs. Photo: Instagram

The complainant also claimed IU previously dismissed their copyright violation concerns, prompting them to explore legal options.

IU has rejected the plagiarism charges.

While music plagiarism charges are usually pursued by the original owner of the creative work, a law firm representing the plaintiff said “a third party is allowed to report the case, if it involves habitually violating intellectual property rights”.

IU’s agency EDAM Entertainment said it has yet to go through the police report and the case appears to be part of a long-running smear campaign that, among other things, accused the star of being a North Korean spy.

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“We came across news articles of [IU] getting reported to the police for plagiarism, but received no official contacts from the investigative agency and we didn’t yet check the content of the aforementioned indictment,” EDAM said in a statement on Wednesday.

IU, who made her acting debut in the 2011 drama Dream High, is no stranger to controversy surrounding copyright infringements.

In 2013, her song Red Shoes came under criticism for its similarity to German band Nekta’s Here’s Us.

EDAM also warned of legal action if the copyright infringement allegations against IU turned out to be false, adding it was aware of social media users spreading baseless rumours about the star and targeting her with malicious posts that tarnish her reputation.

The label said its lawyers have filed a lawsuit against the suspects, the Korea JoongAng Daily reported.

Propaganda pamphlets in the past have claimed IU was a “North Korean spy who uses surveillance drones to conduct reconnaissance of Seoul”.

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