IU’s Agency Sues A Fan For Broadcasting Her Concert, Sparks Super Heated Debate

IU started off her 2019 “LOVE, POEM” tour in Gwangju City, Korea on November 2, 2019. Her fans — who had to compete fiercely for their tickets — became thrilled to see and hear her live during this two-day concert!

On November 3, 2019, however, a netizen claiming to have attended the concert shared — in a now deleted post on an online forum — that he/she had to write a statement at the police station and that he/she is likely being sued by IU’s agency, Kakao M.

The internet soon found out that this “fan” had been broadcasting IU’s concert. While “audio-only”, the agency still found the behavior unacceptable (and illegal by Korean law, to be exact) and immediately pushed to take legal action against the person. Other concert attendees shared an alleged picture of the scene where the police arrived at the stadium to take the fan in question to the station.

That being said, IU fans are caught in a heated debate over whether the agency needed to have taken such a drastic measure. Some believe that Kakao M being this strict will set a strong example for future cases that break copyright laws in this manner. Others think the agency was over the line to have gotten the police involved, especially when dealing with “a real fan” who paid the money and put in the time to go see her concert.