Demand for Change: IU's Fandom Takes to the Streets, Denouncing EDAM Entertainment's Management Missteps

IU's (Lee Ji-eun) fans expressed their outrage towards her agency, Edam Entertainment.

On the 28th, one of IU's fandoms posted on their official SNS: "Today's truck protest will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.", attaching photos of trucks parked in front of the offices of Kakao Entertainment and Edam Entertainment.

The fans explained their reason for the protest, stating, "Despite our first truck protest, the agency continues to neglect numerous rumor videos and posts lackluster announcements when new controversies arise, clearly demonstrating their lack of intent to actively protect their artists."

According to the published photos, trucks with slogans like "Edam is a corrupt company without even a fax or phone line - that's the business philosophy of obstinate Bae Jong Han", "Endless litigation with no progress. Fans ignored, tasks neglected. Bae Jong Han and Park Jung Hyun, it's time to part ways," and "We denounce the representation of Bae Jong Han and the old guard conglomerate of Edam Entertainment" were parked in front of IU's agency office.

The fandom criticized Edam Entertainment for not properly protecting IU and for not taking legal action despite ongoing malicious rumors about her. Last month, rumors spread on an online community claiming IU is a "North Korean top-class spy", that she is also the main character of 'Daedongdong,' and that she is secretly conducting North Korean propaganda activities under the guise of cultural industry.

The "Pink Shoes" plagiarism controversy has also resurfaced. This has been a controversy haunting IU for about ten years, and it reignited when the German band NEKTA released an official statement. NEKTA, which released 'Here's Us' in 2009, is an artist accused of having plagiarized by IU. IU's 'Pink Shoes,' released in 2013, was alleged to be similar in part to NEKTA's 'Here's Us'.

Nordend Entertainment Publishing, the official music publisher who released 'Here's Us' through a project with NEKTA, stated on their official website that "We were surprised by the claim that we clearly addressed the 'copyright infringement' issue by contacting us or NEKTA. This is not true. To date, no official representative from IU, LOEN Entertainment or Edam Entertainment has contacted us. They didn't even respond to our numerous attempts to reach out."

Despite this, the producer Jo Young-cheol, who produced IU's album at that time, stated on the 12th of last month, "I saw an article saying that the German band NEKTA reached out about plagiarism but did not receive any response. That is not the truth. At that time, someone claiming to be NEKTA's legal representative sent an email to LOEN, to which LOEN and LOEN's legal representative replied, clarifying basic factual relationships. They didn't respond further to this, so the case was closed. The emails and official documents sent at that time should still be with the previous company and law firm."

Finally, Edam Entertainment, faced with criticism following Nordend Entertainment Publishing's official statement, confirmed via their official SNS on the 21st that "We have confirmed the email received from Nordend Entertainment and replied to it. We are also disclosing part of the email that LOEN Entertainment, at the time in 2013, responded to through a lawyer," revealing the email they sent to Nordend Entertainment Publishing.

This only fueled the fans' anger. There was no mention of the reason for uploading the post or the context. There was no explanation of to show next part of the translation.

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