Singer IU has been accused of plagiarism by a civilian who claims six of her hit songs are copied works, leading the police to investigate. IU's agency, which has already been collecting evidence and responding to malicious rumors, has submitted a countersuit.

The Seongbuk Police Station in Seoul announced on the 9th that they received a complaint filed by civilian A, accusing IU of copyright infringement. The police are expected to determine the direction of their investigation after reviewing the complaint and consulting with external experts.

The six songs listed in the complaint submitted by A include "Through the Night," "Good Day," "Bbibbi," "Peach," "Boo," and "Celebrity." IU, who has been actively involved in her own music as a singer-songwriter, participated in composing "Celebrity" and producing "Bbibbi."

The complainant argued that "many of these songs are identical to the original works in melody, rhythm, and chord progression, especially 'Good Day' and 'Through the Night,' which have a striking resemblance even to the average listener." They added that "the plagiarized intros in all six songs are suspected, as they establish the overall atmosphere and identity of the music, arousing curiosity in listeners and influencing their decision to listen to the songs."

Of particular interest is the reemergence of "Through the Night," which faced plagiarism controversy in 2013. At the time, IU's then-agency, LOEN Entertainment, argued that "the B-part of the song may sound similar in melody, but the chord progression is completely different" and explained the differences between the chord progressions of "Here's Us" by Nekta and "Through the Night." Several composers, including Bang Si-hyuk and Kim Hyung-suk, also supported the stance that "Through the Night" cannot be considered plagiarized.

EDAM Entertainment, which has been collecting evidence on various malicious rumors targeting IU, stated in an official position that "we have been aware for months of the distribution of articles containing plagiarism allegations and groundless rumors based on false information on online communities, SNS, and YouTube, as well as flyers in some regions." They added that "we have submitted a complaint to the investigative agency through the law firm Shinwon, based on the evidence collected regarding plagiarism allegations, spy rumors, sexual harassment and defamation, dissemination of false information, and invasion of privacy."

Regarding the news that IU has been reported to the police on suspicion of violating copyright law, EDAM Entertainment said, "We have not yet received official contact from the investigative agency, and we have not been able to confirm the contents of the complaint mentioned in the media. We are in the process of understanding the situation."

EDAM Entertainment emphasized that "those who continue to spread distorted false information not only harm the artist but also the agency staff, their business partners, and acquaintances, causing significant psychological and verbal violence. We have determined that we can no longer tolerate or condone these actions that cause discomfort." They added, "The collection of malicious posts and legal responses against our artists are regularly carried out. Although it is difficult to disclose the specific process and progress due to requests from investigative agencies, we have been collecting a large number of malicious posts and additional materials for several months and are more aware of the seriousness than ever."

EDAM Entertainment stressed that they will do their utmost to protect the rights of their artists by tracking down those who post malicious content and will take a tougher stance without any leniency or compromise during this process. They added, "We will not stop our strong response to indiscriminate third-party complaints and criminal acts based on false information."

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