Netizens Voice Concerns Over Plagiarism in K-pop Industry

In a recent development, Wise Music Group, the representative of UK band Shakatak, sent a Letter of Claim to HYBE and its label ADOR, alleging that the girl group NewJeans used unauthorized composition and music elements from Shakatak’s song “Easier Said Than Done”in their track “Bubble Gum.”This has sparked a controversy over possible plagiarism.

Following the accusation of plagiarism, ADOR released a statement refuting the claims and requesting evidence with credible analysis reports from Shakatak. In response, Shakatak declared that they had hired a musicologist to handle the case, demonstrating their determination to see the accusation through to the end.

The song “Bubble Gum”by NewJeans is not the only K-pop track that has been accused of plagiarism. Most recently, BLACKPINK member Lisa also faced allegations of plagiarism. Specifically, Gabriel Moses, the director of Travis Scott’s “FE!N”music video, claimed that a scene in Lisa’s “Rockstar”music video was copied from “FE!N”.

On July 4th, the director posted a screenshot of an email report on social media and then mentioned on his X account that the company had contacted his editor about working on the project, citing FE!N as a reference. The editor declined, but the company proceeded with the project regardless.

Not only are overseas artists facing plagiarism issues, but this topic is also being debated among K-pop agencies and artists. Recently, CEO Min Hee-jin of ADOR made accusations that ILLIT, a newly debuted girl group from Belif Lab, copied NewJeans’ concepts. In retaliation, Belift Lab filed a defamation and obstruction of business lawsuit against Min Hee-jin.

According to music critic Lim Hee-yun, the rise in plagiarism cases in the K-pop industry can be attributed to the industry’s growing popularity and presence in international markets. The critic also noted that as the K-pop market expands, some foreign artists may raise plagiarism concerns in pursuit of financial gain.

Lim Hee-yun highlighted that despite being compared to other songs, aside from “Easier Said Than Done,”NewJeans’s “Bubble Gum”was a result of current music trends. The critic noted that the universal and easy listening melody of “Bubble Gum”could potentially lead to similarity issues as many songs with a similar simple structure may also face accusations of plagiarism.

The Korea Music Copyright Association has also requested that individuals await the court’s ruling.