It has been revealed that among those who raised plagiarism allegations against K-pop artist IU last year, one individual is suspected to be a former middle school schoolmate of IU. On November 11, IU's agency, EDAM Entertainment stated, "We have identified some of the individuals who defamed IU by raising groundless plagiarism claims in April-May of last year. One of these individuals is suspected to be a former middle school schoolmate of IU.
" The agency further noted, "Despite the ongoing legal proceedings, there has been continuous harassment toward IU, and we are currently responding to this as well." At the time, IU faced plagiarism allegations, was accused of copyright infringement, and even had one case reported to the police. However, the police dismissed the complaint, and IU's agency has since filed a civil lawsuit for damages against the accuser.
The agency stated, "The other party did not appear at the first hearing held on July 24 at the Seoul Central District Court. But a hearing is scheduled for December 4." It remains unconfirmed whether this particular accuser is IU's middle school schoolmate, though.
Since last year, the agency has filed complaints against approximately 180 individuals for serious offenses, including threats, insults, defamation, and creating illegal edited images directed at IU. The agency emphasized that they would take a firm stance against malicious commenters, pursuing strict legal action without any chance for settlement or leniency. .