BTS Jung Kook's Seven might face a plagiarism lawsuit against the composer of Fin.K.L's Time of Mask despite BigHit’s denial

On Tuesday, August 22, Ten Asia stated that BTS Jung Kook's Seven might be facing a plagiarism lawsuit after the reports received from the producer and composer of Fin.K.L's Time of Mask, a twenty-four-year-old song. The composer, Yang Joon-young, expressed that the two songs, Seven and Time of Mask seem to have the same scale of sequence.

Keeping this as the basis of his plagiarism allegations, the composer initially reached out to HYBE LABELS and BigHit Entertainment to resolve the issue without it being publicized. However, since the response from the agency was vague, Yang Joon-young went public with his allegations.

While Jung Kook's agency has denied the rumors, a legal firm representative who observed the issue expressed that HYBE LABELS weren't defensive enough with their denial. Additionally, despite their denial, the plagiarism lawsuit from Yang Joon-young might go forward.

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BTS Jung Kook's Seven facing plagiarism lawsuits against a song that released in 1999

On July 14, 2023, Jung Kook made his solo debut with the single, Seven. The release was extremely successful with it breaking several records and topping multiple music charts. While the song hasn't faced problems in the months following its release, the sudden reports made by Yang Joon-young through the media outlet, Ten Asia, have shocked many.

According to the report, following the release of Seven, Yang Joon-young reached out to HYBE LABELS expressing his allegations. He attached a file comparing the music notes of the two songs, Seven and Time of Mask, and pointed out their similarities, especially with respect to the scale of sequence.

Comparison of Music Files by Yang Joon-young (Image via allkpop)

However, the agency was unresponsive and disregarded the issue. The agency's representatives initially said,

"There is a delay in addressing the matter due to chairman Bang Si Hyuk's overseas business trip."

But for the next two weeks, there was no response or update from the company. This naturally left Yang Joon-young helpless and he took the issue to a media outlet to express his plagiarism allegations. On August 22, soon after the issue was publicized, HYBE LABEL's Risk Management Department released an official statement denying the allegations.

The official statement read:

"The claim of copyright infringement regarding Jung Kook’s Seven is not true. Seven is a song that was made through the collaboration of five foreign composers, and it is a creation that is completely unrelated to the song on a domestic album. They are one-sided claims that do not meet any criteria such as substantial similarity and principles in determining plagiarism."

However, the company's statement might not have been strong or convincing enough. A representative of a legal firm stepped forward to express that their statement might in fact only work against them with respect to the plagiarism allegations.

"Rather than delivering a political decision on the issue, the statement utilized language that seems favorable in the event of a lawsuit. 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."

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Yang Joon-young's plagiarism lawsuit against Jung Kook's Seven is still open, so the lawsuit might go forward unless any solid action is taken from the idol's agency or label.