After accusations that the album teaser for SEVENTEEN’s Jeonghan and Wonwoo “plagiarized” aespa, online users defended the duo.
SEVENTEEN revealed that Jeonghan and Wonwoo would be releasing their first single album, “This Man,” on May 19 (KST) and unveiled a visual teaser.
After the video went viral, people on the internet accused Pledis Entertainment of copying the idea, saying it was a ripoff of aespa’s earlier teasers.
JEONGHAN X WONWOO
1ST SINGLE ALBUM ‘THIS MAN’𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲
2024.06.17 6PM (KST) / 5AM (ET)#JxW #정한X원우#THISMAN pic.twitter.com/HcU9iYv1IM
— 세븐틴(SEVENTEEN) (@pledis_17) May 19, 2024
Some K-pop stans expressed their opinions and said it was “plagiarism.”
atleast have some shame? https://t.co/3qtDKYNoQP pic.twitter.com/pUg3xDfrzJ
— َ (@inthefIat) May 19, 2024
pic.twitter.com/oq6Az2eU9M https://t.co/aTLpqibqT6
— æki (@ae_aekl) May 19, 2024
… anyway pic.twitter.com/2VYi4IqMnV https://t.co/WNNXbYKI7Q
— el ☆ (@fruitjjyubi) May 20, 2024
girl I thought this was an aespa teaser pic.twitter.com/827s6OOOQ6
— melody ୨୧ (@wonyadoll) May 19, 2024
However, after thinking they had located the concept’s creator, internet users swiftly responded to the claims. The video was shared on Instagram Stories by @ohso0hwan. People observed that the same account also shared the aespa concept video, which SEVENTEEN was accused of stealing, and many pointed out that the same person must have worked on both.
View this post on Instagram
When CARATs located the designer, they refuted the accusations of “plagiarism” by stating that although aespa didn’t originate the idea, the creator had been utilizing the aesthetic for many years and numerous projects, including work for companies like Gentle Monster, Samsung, and numerous others.
mind you this kind of concept for teasers/ads were made even before a£spa. now is it safe to say your favs copied gentlemonster's concept? pic.twitter.com/K9YodwZyVZ
— les (@noncheolants) May 20, 2024
Y’all did that the last time too, only for the people in charge to be the exact same as for aespa. It’s not THEIR aesthetic but the persons that designs these. So unless one of the members made their teasers themselves sit down & don’t claim someone else’s work https://t.co/LHLPgzxQkq
— MingyusBoo¹⁷ ᴵˢ ᴿᴵᴳᴴᵀ ᴴᴱᴿᴱ (@lelemosvfm) May 19, 2024
As of this writing, Pledis Entertainment has not yet released a statement regarding the issue.
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