August 14, 2025 | 04:50 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Police in Seoul's Mapo district are investigating G-Dragon, the leader of the K-pop group BIGBANG, and Yang Hyun-suk, the founder and chief producer of YG Entertainment, on allegations of copyright infringement.
The investigation follows a report filed by a composer in November 2024, as reported by Korea JoongAng Daily. During a press conference on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, police officials stated that the composer accused YG Entertainment of illegally copying his song, producing it, and distributing it on one of G-Dragon's albums.
The police have questioned several parties and conducted two raids: one at YG Entertainment's headquarters and another at the Korean Music Copyright Association office in Gangseo-gu. "The investigation is ongoing," a police official confirmed.
Composer's Allegations Against G-Dragon and YG Entertainment
According to a report from Koreaboo, the composer claimed that YG Entertainment renamed his song "My Age is 13" without permission and included it on G-Dragon's solo album around April 2009. The song was later featured in G-Dragon's live album medley, "Shine a Light", in 2010, titled "My Age 13 + Storm + Handsome Gentleman + G-Dragon."
The composer's complaint also implicates YG Entertainment's CEO and Yang Hyun-suk's brother, Yang Min-suk, as well as Choi Sung-joon, the CEO of YG Plus, a subsidiary of YG Entertainment. While investigators are conducting searches and examinations, police have declined to disclose specific details of the case.
In response to the allegations, YG Entertainment issued a statement, as reported by Chosun Biz, denying the claims of unauthorized album production. A company representative stated, "The incident stemmed from the artist listing the titles of two songs with the same title on the setlist, and it is not a case of unauthorized reproduction of the album."
Netizen Reactions to the Investigation of G-Dragon
The investigation has provoked a range of reactions from netizens. Some, as quoted by Koreaboo, expressed surprise that the alleged incident occurred over a decade ago and questioned why it is being addressed now.
"[It] feels like the prosecution just wants to keep making noise about GD~ Since the drug thing didn’t work out, maybe they got an order to dig into anything they can find," commented one netizen.
"The whole thing is petty, but the fact that they filed the complaint right before his comeback is the pettiest part lol," another netizen said.
Conversely, other netizens believe the investigation is based on valid reasons. One user remarked, "If we wait, something will come out. If you don’t know the situation, it’s best to stay quiet."
Another netizen said, "When they do something this extreme in a case like this, there’s usually a reason behind it." A third comment urged patience, stating, "You don’t get a warrant easily. Stop adding unnecessary comments—just wait instead of saying it’s too much or not."
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