Singer, producer, and composer Park Jin Young‘s plagiarism case has partially been resolved.
Composer Kim Shinil had previously filed a lawsuit against Park Jin Young for plagiarism. On the morning of February 10th, the Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of Kim Shinil. The jury stated, “We have ruled that the defendant Park Jin Young has 4 points in his song that are remarkably similar to plantiff Kim Shinil’s song. As the defendant has violated copyright laws, the defendant will have to pay the plantiff 21,670,000 won (~$21,670) in compensation.“
The jury made its decision after considering 4 issues. They first deliberated whether or not Kim Shinil was the original composer of “To My Man” (sung by Ash) and if the song was worth protecting. Then, they discussed if Park Jin Young had written “Someday” (sung by IU for “Dream High” soundtrack) after he had listened to Kim Shinil’s song. They also had to figure out if the two songs were similar. Finally, they had to determine whether or not Park Jin Young had made a grave enough mistake to warrant monetary compensation.
The jury commented, “We have acknowledged that Kim Shinil is the original composer of the song and after listening to the stories from specialists from both parties, we have determined that the chorus from both songs have 4 points of similar tune, harmony, and rhythm. Since “To My Man” has been released on CDs and tapes and has also been featured on national television shows, we believe that it is entirely possible for Park Jin Young to have mistakenly infringed upon copyright.”
Composer Kim Shinil filed his complaint to the Seoul District Courts on July 11, 2011, stating, “‘Someday’ is a plagiarized track from singer Ash’s second album called ‘To My Man.’ The composer and writer of ‘Someday,’ Park Jin Young of JYP Entertainment should pay 110 million won (~$110,000) in compensation.”
However, due to the fact that the entire song was not plagiarized but only the chorus portion, the jury did not decide upon the full amount of 110 million won. Instead, Park Jin Young will have to pay only 21,670,000 won.
The Justice Department has stated, “It’s very difficult to draw the line with the law regarding music problems.” Both parties have met several times to try to mediate the issue, but could not come to an agreement due to their large differences.
Update:
In response to the jury’s decision, JYP Entertainment has stated, “We have been wrongfully accused.“
The agency has stated, “We cannot agree with the court’s decision regarding ‘Someday.’ We are currently preparing to appeal.” They added, “While Park Jin Young was composing ‘Someday,’ he had never even listened once to the song ‘To My Man.’ The chord structure that the plantiff is asserting to be his original composition was actually first used by Park Jin Young when he wrote g.o.d‘s ’0%.’ Afterwards, he used the same portion in Bi‘s (Rain) ’Move On.’ Likewise, the intro melody that the plantiff claims as his own was first used by Park Jin Young in Park Ji Yoon‘s ‘Gwi Hyang (Return Home).’ Since the past, Park Jin Young has always recycled the chords and melody patterns from his old songs into new, original songs.“
JYP Entertainment also commented, “It really doesn’t make sense for a song that is featured on a nationally televised drama to be a plagiarized track. Who would do such a thing when it’s clear it would become a huge controversy? We will appeal the case and will be working our hardest to get a different verdict.”
Park Jin Young also wrote on February 10th on his me2day, “I’m so frustrated. I’ve never heard Ash’s ‘To My Man.’ They say I’ve plagiarized a song that I’ve never heard before. I guess I just have to gather my strength to butt heads again.“
(Source: Sports Hangook + Sports Chosun via Daum)
