"Internet Development Makes Plagiarism Difficult"
Broadcaster Park Myung-soo shared his views on the plagiarism controversy surrounding singer IU.
On the 19th, KBS CoolFM's 'Park Myung-soo's Radio Show' addressed the plagiarism controversy related to IU. Jeon Min-gi, a big data expert who appeared on the show, said, "It's unfortunate news that IU has been plagued by plagiarism allegations," adding, "The person who filed the plagiarism complaint is not the composer mentioned as the original creator but a citizen who submitted a complaint claiming that six of IU's representative songs show signs of plagiarizing music by domestic artists."
He continued, "However, copyright infringement cases proceed only when the original copyright holder files a lawsuit," and "In fact, the lawsuit should be directed at the composers, not IU, but since it was filed against IU, the issue became a topic of discussion, and public opinion has formed around the question, 'What wrong has IU done?'"
In response, Park Myung-soo said, "Did IU order it? No, right? You should question the person who made the song, not IU. IU and many other celebrities are creating K-pop culture and promoting our country's culture a lot. We need to support them. Also, the fans are very discerning. If something wrong happens, the fans won't stay silent. These days, it's almost impossible to plagiarize intentionally," he said.
He added, "I also compose songs myself, but I don't release them because of the fear that similar works might already exist somewhere in the world," and "Composers always have such concerns. The anxiety that the inspiration for the song they created might have been influenced by something they've heard elsewhere makes creativity more difficult," he explained.
He further emphasized, "In the past, when the internet was not well developed, such incidents sometimes happened, but now I believe no composer can easily plagiarize."
Meanwhile, on the 10th, a citizen identified as A filed a complaint with the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul, accusing IU of violating copyright law by allegedly plagiarizing music from overseas and domestic artists in her representative songs 'Bunhongshin', 'Good Day', 'Bbibbi', 'Gayeowo', 'Boo', and 'Celebrity'.
IU's agency, EDAM Entertainment, stated, "Our company has been monitoring and requesting investigations for months against groups that have continuously spread plagiarism allegations, baseless spy rumors, and sexual slanders targeting our artist," adding, "We were shocked and beyond disbelief when some of them filed a complaint raising plagiarism allegations."
They continued, "Even though some composers have stated that there is no plagiarism, a third party with no relation to copyright is aggressively filing a complaint solely against the vocalist IU, which is clearly intended to tarnish the artist's image," and vowed to respond strongly.
Composers Lee Min-soo, who composed 'Bunhongshin' and 'Good Day', and Lee Jong-hoon, who composed 'Bbibbi', also denied the plagiarism allegations, stating, "We have not plagiarized any other works."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
