Composer indicted on fraud charge

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Composer indicted on fraud charge

A Korean composer suspected of selling plagarized songs to pop singer Lee Hyo-ri was arrested yesterday on charges of fraud and business interference, prosecutors said.

Bahnus, whose real name is Lee Jae-yong, was sued by singer Lee’s agency in June for selling seven songs allegedly copied from foreign musicians’ songs for 29 million won ($24,000). The songs were used on Lee’s latest album released in April.

“We considered the fact that [he] tarnished Korean musicians’ credibility overseas and the amount of damage was enormous,” the Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office said.

The composer is also charged with swindling an entertainment business official out of 30 million won by fabricating his contract with an international record company, prosecutors said.

Soon after the K-pop diva’s fourth album, “H-Logic,” was released, suspicions of plagiarism emerged on the Internet, with files of the original songs from Canada, Britain and Norway floating online. In June, Lee admitted six of the songs were not original and officially stopped promoting her album.

Lee was mired in similar accusations on her 2006 album, in which “Get Ya” was suspected of lifting from Britney Spears’ “Do Something.”


Yonhap
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