On May 12, EDAM Entertainment, the agency representing singer and actress IU, issued their third official statement addressing rampant accusations of plagiarism and espionage rumors.

Through their official SNS, EDAM Entertainment stated, "Based on the facts we have confirmed, the accuser, who has raised the plagiarism suspicions, is a third party with no rights to the songs in question. Despite claiming a public purpose for the plagiarism allegations, the accuser has directed their claims not at the songwriter but at the performer, which raises doubts about the purpose and maliciousness of their actions."

The agency continued, "As soon as we understand the details of the accusations, we will forcefully respond with evidence prepared over several months based on reports from fans, music experts, and songwriters. Investigations are also ongoing against the distributors of flyers spreading espionage rumors. We have submitted a complaint to investigative agencies through a law firm after gathering various pieces of evidence, and we are narrowing down the network to track down the producer and distributor."

EDAM Entertainment added, "The spread of such false information is a clear criminal act, and we are aware of the increasingly organized and vicious defamation. We promise to take measures to ensure that the artist's reputation is not tarnished by such frivolous and unpleasant rumors by finding the source and ensuring they receive legal punishment."

The agency is continuing to file complaints against indiscriminate defamation of the artist, sexual harassment, malicious posts, speculation, spreading false information, invasion of privacy, and severe levels of malicious posts posted on various channels such as online communities, SNS, and YouTube.

Earlier, a person presumed to be a malicious commenter against IU, identified as 'A,' was known to have filed a complaint against IU at the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul on the 8th for violation of copyright law.

'A' claimed without clear evidence that IU's 'Good Day', 'Red Shoes', 'Bbibbi', 'Cute', 'Boo', and 'Celebrity' were all songs completed through plagiarism. However, among the six songs, the only song IU participated in composing was 'Celebrity', which she worked on as a co-composer with Ryan Jhun and foreign composers. She only participated as a lyricist for 'Bbibbi'.

The songwriters of IU's songs have also fought back. Lee Jong-hoon, the composer of 'Bbibbi', said on his personal SNS on the 11th, "I regret that the target of the plagiarism accusation was chosen incorrectly." He emphasized that he did not plagiarize any other work while working on 'Bbibbi' and will correct any misunderstanding and slander, even if it means going through legal proceedings.

Lee Min-soo, the composer of 'Good Day' and 'Red Shoes', posted on SNS on the 11th, "I did not refer to or keep in mind anyone else's song when I was working on 'Good Day' and 'Red Shoes'."

Han Sang-won, the composer of 'Boo', also said on his SNS on the 12th, "What is the intention of the person who accused IU while bypassing me, the composer? I am always ready to communicate with the 'composer of the song' who claims plagiarism of my song, so if you are the composer of that song, please contact me."

Here is the first official statement by IU's agency, EDAM Entertainment.

Hello, this is EDAM Entertainment.

We would like to express our sincere thanks to all the fans who have shown relentless support and love towards IU, an artist under EDAM Entertainment.

We are aware of a certain number of posts, rumors, and flyers containing false information and plagiarism allegations related to IU that have been distributed in some areas and posted on various online communities, SNS, and YouTube. We have confirmed that a significant number of these malicious posts have been repeatedly posted on various online communities and Naver cafes for several months.

Since the time these allegations were raised, we have collected evidence of plagiarism allegations, spy rumors, sexual harassment and defamation, dissemination of false information, and invasions of privacy. We have submitted a complaint to the investigative agencies through the law firm Shinwon. Today, we came across an article stating that we have been reported to the police for allegations of plagiarism.

Regarding this, we have not received any official contact from the investigative agency and only became aware of the report through the article. We have yet to confirm the contents of the complaint mentioned in the media and are currently working to understand the situation.

Those who persistently spread distorted false information are causing great harm, subjecting not only our artist but also our agency staff, their workplaces, and their acquaintances to mental and verbal abuse. We have determined that we can no longer overlook or tolerate this discomforting behavior, recognizing the seriousness of the situation.

Disseminating unfounded false information that maliciously tarnishes the reputation of an artist as if it were fact is clearly illegal, and we emphasize that this is subject to strong legal action. If criminal acts of repeatedly posting malicious posts, insulting personal dignity, defaming, or reproducing false information continue, we intend to proceed with strong legal action without mercy.

Furthermore, the collection of malicious posts about our artists and legal responses are regularly being carried out. We are unable to disclose the specific process and progress at the request of the investigative agency, but we are currently collecting a large number of malicious posts and additional materials, and we want to reiterate that we are more aware than ever of the seriousness of the situation.

We will do our utmost to protect the rights of our artists by tracking down the authors of malicious posts to the end, and we will respond more strongly without any mercy or agreement in this process. We will also repeatedly state that we will not stop taking strong action against reckless third-party accusations and crimes based on false information.

We will continue to actively collect and supplement evidence of malicious posts, monitor ourselves, and continue strong legal responses. Therefore, if fans discover any malicious posts, rumors, or clear criminal acts that infringe on the rights of our artists, please report them to our official email account.

Lastly, EDAM Entertainment will strive to ensure that the path that IU and UAENA will walk together will be filled with boundless happiness that will shine for a long time. Thank you.

Here is the translated article:

This is the second official statement from IU's agency, EDAM Entertainment.

Hello. This is EDAM Entertainment.

Firstly, we would like to deeply apologize to all our fans for causing concern.

Our company has been responding through continuous monitoring and investigations against forces that have been consistently directing plagiarism suspicions, groundless spy rumors, and sexual slurs towards our artist. We were beyond bewildered and shocked to learn that some of these individuals had raised suspicions of plagiarism and filed a complaint.

Following the plagiarism suspicion and related copyright violation allegations reported on the 10th, we appointed a copyright law firm to verify the contents of the accusation. So far, after synthesizing what we have confirmed through investigative agencies and media reports, the complainant is not raising plagiarism suspicions against the composers, but only against IU. Even in a situation where some composers say it is not plagiarism, the fact that a third party, unrelated to copyright, unreasonably filed a complaint against IU, the singer, shows that it is only to tarnish the image of the artist.

We believe that the investigative agency will make a quick and wise judgment on these clearly erroneous accusations, and we will hold those who have filed indiscriminate complaints accountable accordingly.

We have been closely communicating with the composers since the beginning of the incident, and we want to reiterate that we will strongly respond to indiscriminate complaints.

EDAM Entertainment and our artists will continue to do our best to repay you with good music as much as you support and trust us. Thank you.

This is the third official statement from IU's agency, EDAM Entertainment.

Hello. This is EDAM Entertainment.

We would like to provide additional explanations and our position regarding the notice content we posted on the 10th.

On the 10th, we first encountered the fact that a complaint had been received from someone whose identity could not be confirmed through a news article.

We apologize for not being quicker in posting this statement due to the time taken to inquire about the time when we can formally view the received complaint and the fact of its reception after going through the confirmation process.

According to the facts confirmed so far, the complainant is a third party who has no rights to the songs for which they have raised 'suspicions'. Despite claiming the complaint to be of public interest regarding plagiarism suspicions, it is inconsistent that the target of the complaint is the singer, not the author, leading us to question the purpose and maliciousness of their actions.

As soon as the details of the complaint are understood, we will respond strongly with evidence prepared in collaboration with music experts and composers based on several months of fan reports.

Additionally, an investigation into the distributor of pamphlets handling spy rumors is ongoing. We have submitted a complaint to investigative agencies through a law firm after collecting various materials, and we are narrowing down the investigation network to track the person who produced and distributed these.

Spreading such false facts is a clear criminal act and we are aware of the increasingly organized and vicious slanders. We promise to find the source and take measures to ensure legal punishment so that the artist's reputation is not damaged by such baseless and unpleasant rumors.

Furthermore, we are continuously filing lawsuits against indiscriminate slanders, sexual harassment, malicious posts, and speculations, spreading false facts, invasion of privacy, and other serious levels of malicious posts about the artist posted on various channels such as online communities, SNS, YouTube, etc.

The reason for proceeding with lawsuits without notice and informing you of the final judgment is that most malicious posts are deleted as soon as the detailed process is announced, which can hinder the investigation.

Also, some trolls who are unaware of the fact whether a lawsuit has been filed repeatedly write malicious posts of a similar level, and the more this is repeated, the easier it is to identify them, and the level of punishment increases. Therefore, we believe that collecting evidence and proceeding with lawsuits before providing accurate results helps lead to more severe punishment for trolls, and we ask for your understanding.

Lastly, we are fully aware of the reports and various opinions that you share with us. We will listen to your concerns and criticisms, and do our best to ensure that our shortcomings are not repeated.

Thank you.

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