Why did citizen A, who accused singer IU of plagiarism, target the vocalist rather than the composer? IU, through her agency, suggested a legal response to those like A who raised plagiarism suspicions. The atmosphere is more heated over the accuser's motives and intentions rather than the plagiarism controversy itself.

On May 12, IU's agency, EDAM Entertainment, announced they had appointed a copyright-specialized law firm in relation to the plagiarism allegations. IU expressed anger at A's accusatory intentions through her agency. The most vocal person in this controversy, A, did not accuse the actual composers, but targeted IU, the singer. In fact, A only accused IU alone.

The songs A accused of plagiarism amount to six tracks, most of which were composed by notable composers. While they were featured on IU's albums and were sung by IU, her participation in the composition of these six songs is relatively low. This is the point that raises questions about A's accusatory intentions, not only among IU's fans but also among many others.

Out of the six tracks on the chopping block - 'Pink Shoes', 'Good Day', 'BBI BBI', 'Pitiful', 'Knee', and 'Celebrity' - IU only composed one song, 'Celebrity'. While she participated in producing 'BBI BBI', her name is excluded from the composer's list.

 

In the accusation, A pointed out that "these songs have many parts that are the same as the original songs (suspected of plagiarism), from melody, rhythm to chord progression." They especially claimed that people could feel significant similarities with 'Good Day' and 'Pink Shoes'. The essence of the accusation lies in the suspected 'plagiarism'.

However, A ironically excluded Lee Min Soo, the composer of the two songs, from the accusation. Composer Lee Min Soo denied the plagiarism allegations through his SNS and expressed his concern for IU. He stated, "When working on 'Good Day' and 'Pink Shoes', I didn't refer to or consider other people's songs," and wished "IU wouldn't be hurt by this".

The composer of 'BBI BBI', Lee Jong Hoon, also expressed his stance via SNS. He explained, "I didn't plagiarize any other work while working on 'BBI BBI'," and that he only found distinguishing points between the controversial songs. After listening to several songs claimed to have similarities in a YouTube mashup video, he argued that excluding the musical genre characteristics of hip-hop/R&B, he could confirm distinctiveness and individuality in chord progression, song structure, and instrumental composition.

At the same time, he pointed out that A's accusation was misdirected. Why IU? He expressed clear regret towards A, who accused the singer instead of the copyright-holding composer while raising plagiarism suspicions.

As the composers stated, there are very few songs where IU could be asked about plagiarism. 'Celebrity', the song that IU is credited as a composer, is only registered as one of the six co-composers. This is why IU, through her agency, expressed more doubt about A's accusatory intentions than the plagiarism controversy itself.

As A's exclusion of creators and composers, the core of plagiarism controversies, from the accusations came to light, the controversy has entered a new phase. Is A's purpose truly the protection of copyright? If so, the reason for accusing IU alone is quite intriguing.

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