According to an exclusive media outlet report on August 23 KST, Big Hit Music may soon face a plagiarism lawsuit over alleged similarities between BTS member Jungkook’s solo single “Seven” and Fin.K.L’s “Time of Mask“.
The plagiarism accusations regarding Jungkook’s “Seven” came to light on August 22 KST as a result of an exclusive Ten Asia report, drawing attention to the fact that producer Yang Joon Young of Fin.K.L’s “Time of Mask” had personally raised the allegations. Yang Joon Young cited the “same scale sequence” as his main reason for the plagiarism claims.
Now, according to a new Ten Asia report, Yang Joon Young did not initially wish to have the issue publicized in the media. In fact, it’s said that Yang Joon Young forwarded a file which compared the music scores of “Seven” and “Time of Mask” to a producer at HYBE Labels in early August, hoping to address the suspicions over a discussion. However, after receiving a temporary response that “there is a delay in addressing the matter due to chairman Bang Si Hyuk‘s overseas business trip”, Yang Joon Young did not receive additional updates from HYBE Labels for over 2 weeks.
Below, Ten Asia has revealed an image of what is believed to be part of the file forward by Yang Joon Young to HYBE Labels. In order to compare the note sequence of the two melodies used in “Seven” and “Time of Mask”, the tempo and the key of both songs were adjusted.
However, as soon as the plagiarism issue made news headlines on August 22 KST, the risk management department at HYBE Labels quickly jumped to action. It was not until this date, according to Ten Asia, that producer Yang Joon Young’s files were opened and evaluated by HYBE’s legal team.
On the afternoon of August 22 KST, Big Hit Music released an official press statement to deny the plagiarism accusations against Jungkook’s “Seven”. Regarding Big Hit Music’s statement, one legal firm pointed out, “Rather than delivering a political decision on the issue, the statement utilized language that seems favorable in the events of a lawsuit.”
The legal firm added on, “The possibility that HYBE Labels missed its golden opportunity to arrive at a resolution which would have prioritized the image of the entertainer in this case cannot be ruled out at this time.” Some industry affiliates are of the opinion that the window for producer Yang Joon Young to pursue a lawsuit remains open.
Stay tuned for details.
