SM Entertainment Accused Of Stealing aespa’s Concept Visuals From Rejected Job Applicant

An individual has accused SM Entertainment of stealing their original visual concepts for aespa’s LEMONADE.

The accusations surfaced on May 9, KST, when a post appeared on an online community in which the writer claimed that the visual concepts of LEMONADE were eerily similar to those they had created for a job application to SM’s visual planning team. The OP (original poster) mentioned that they had submitted the proposal before aespa’s MY WORLD album was released. They were rejected at the interview stage.

The OP claimed that the official concept photos of aespa shared way too many similarities with their proposal, including elements such as the use of shadows to create objects, lighting, and retouching style. However, one of the standout similarities was the highlighted, glowing eyes in LEMONADE’s “Mutant” concept photos. The OP’s proposal contained multiple similar pictures, but they weren’t simply sourced from the internet. They explained that they personally edited the pictures to darken the whole image and highlight only the eyes.

The OP concluded the post saying that they spent years trying to enter the entertainment industry and were rejected by both SM Entertainment and THE BLACK LABEL, which shattered their mental health and finances. Eventually, they had to return to their hometown and give up their dreams. So, seeing SM use similar visual concepts for aespa was even more painful for them.

The post has since gone viral across communities, with netizens expressing genuine sympathy for the OP.

• “Even to me, it looks like they referenced yours. Plus, the OP’s version actually looks even more stylish.”
• “Did everything else overlap, or is it just that one thing?”
• “It must be upsetting.”
• “I honestly think it’s a total scumbag move when they hold a contest just to cherry-pick all the best ideas, only to end up not selecting anyone.”
• “It is a bit of a gray area, though. After all, they essentially just combined existing references, and I’m not sure it goes so far as to say that the result couldn’t have been produced without having specifically consulted your original concept.”

What are your thoughts on this?