HYBE Accused of Plagiarizing an Artist’s Style for New Virtual Idol Group

Recently, HYBE made the announcement of their upcoming virtual idol group, SYNDI8. However, the group has faced numerous accusations of plagiarism, including copying aespa’s Karina, YouTuber Calm Man, and SEVENTEEN’s The8. Another allegation of copying has recently surfaced, adding to the group’s ongoing controversy.

Recently, @b.yo_art, an artist on Instagram, shared screenshots of HYBE’s message regarding the SYNDI8 project. The artist also stated that despite reaching out to HYBE for payment and additional information, they did not receive a response.

Despite this, HYBE later revealed a new virtual group (SYNDI8) with a strikingly similar artstyle to @b.yo_art. However, the original sketch they had shared with @b.yo_art has been completely altered by HYBE.

@b.yo_art wrote mockingly, “It’s just a coincidence that the final product ended up resembling my style while the previous sketch was completely different, right?”They then added, “Or did you work hard tracing my work? It looks like you heavily referenced it.”

The accusation made by @b.yo_art gained immediate attention from netizens, who also started to criticize HYBE. Despite this, some individuals believed that @b.yo_art’s style was not original, causing the accusations of copying to be questioned.

After receiving a response, @b.yo_art shared another post, commenting, “How ironic. I am aware that I cannot assert my style as completely original. My artwork was influenced by classic comic books and city pop illustrations, but the company that showed interest in me did not even bother responding when I asked for more information about the project, correct? It was a collaboration inquiry that was unilaterally rejected.”

“Despite my efforts to stay positive, I can’t help but feel uneasy about the complete change in the existing drawing style and the resulting outcome. I understand that they may have taken inspiration from other artists besides myself. Fans have asked if I was involved in the project, and I want to make it clear that I had no part in it. I am not writing this to ask for any action to be taken. After all, what power does one individual have?”, they added.

Despite @b.yo_art’s deletion of both previous updates, articles discussing the artist’s claims continue to be plagued by negative comments directed towards HYBE.

Some remarks from internet users on relevant topics are listed below:

HYBE is the worst
It’s true that they switched up the style completely after ignoring the artist…
Just compare the original sketch with the final version and it’s obvious that they copied the artist’s style and palette
Just how many controversies has HYBE faced this year? Truely a shitty agency
Is it possible that HYBE has exhausted their funds? How can they justify shamelessly plagiarizing from another artist like this?
The controversies surrounding HYBE seem to be never-ending.

The source of this information is PC, as reported on theqoo website.