IU Plagiarism Accuser Absent From Trial For Damage Lawsuit Against IU

On July 24th, Judge Lee Geon-hee of Seoul Central District Court’s Division 29 presided over the initial trial of the plagiarism lawsuit brought by IU against A. After three years, the trial concluded and the court scheduled another session for later.

IU’s representative appeared in court, but neither A nor their representative were present. During the proceedings, IU’s side acknowledged that the defendant is currently residing in the US. They then requested to obtain the defendant’s personal information through a trial process in the US, which is expected to take approximately 3-4 months. The court approved this request.

The court stated that due to personnel transfers in January of last year, the case will be completed before that time. Additionally, they mentioned that a new trial date will be requested once the defendant’s personal information is confirmed.

In May, A filed a complaint against IU with the Seoul Gangnam Police for allegedly violating the Copyright Law. The complaint included six songs that were suspected of plagiarism, including “The Red Shoes”, “Good Day”, “BBIBBI”, “Pitiful”, “Boo”, and “Celebrity”. IU was personally involved in the writing and composing of “Celebrity”and the producing and composing of “BBIBBI”.

Initially, the complaint highlighted songs that IU did not compose and parts she did not contribute to, resulting in the court dismissing it. When the plagiarism accusations arose, IU’s agency released a statement stating, “We are fully aware of the distribution of flyers containing false information and baseless rumors regarding plagiarism allegations in certain areas.”They also added, “We will continue to take strong measures against any criminal activities, such as unfounded accusations and harm caused by false information.”

Following this, A was sued by IU for defaming her, infringing on her personal rights, and making false accusations.