Writer Choi Ran Had Accused Lee Hee Myung ("Queen of Ambition") of Plagiarism Out of Spite?

On November 4, Lee Hee Myung, who wrote the SBS drama “Queen of Ambition,” sued the Korean Radio & TV Writers Association. The writers association had expelled the writer for copyright infringement in August following a meeting of the directors and the sanction committee, who said that certain parts of his work were too similar to another.

Verdi Media, the company that was in charge of producing “Queen of Ambition,” announced on November 6, “Writer Lee Hee Myung and Verdi Media filed a suit on November 4 against the writers association for defamation due to the publications made. They are requesting a withdrawal of the expulsion, as well as compensation.”

Through his legal representative, Lee Hee Myung stated, “Because of this nonsense about plagiarism, and the forceful, one-sided expulsion, not only was I affected, but my family was hurt by it, too. Through this legal fight, I want to reclaim the truth and honor that was lost, and bring smiles back to my family.”

Moreover, Lee Hee Myung said that he had personally appeared at the association, stating that it most definitely was not plagiarism and requested that they not make any arbitrary or hasty decisions until a legal decision had been reached. However, on the word of a monthly writer, the decision was finalized and the honor on his creativity was severely damaged.

Yoon Young Hwa, the CEO of Verdi Media, explained that while writer Choi Ran was originally supposed to dramatize the original work by Park In Kwon, the resulting output was insufficient, and Choi Ran’s contract became void, so Lee Hee Myung was called to take over. He continued, “At this, in spite, writer Choi Ran reported to the writers association that Lee Hee Myung plagiarized her work, so the association, unable to accept this, went through with the expulsion.”

“Queen of Ambition” was artist Park In Kwon’s third installment of his “Big Thing” series, and tells the story of a man who sacrifices everything for a woman who aspires to be the first lady and is betrayed, eventually falling onto a track of revenge. 

Starring Kwon Sang Woo, Soo Ae, U-Know Yunho, Go Jun Hee, and Kim Sung Ryung, the 24-episode drama was aired from January to April of this year. 

Lee Hee Myung, who debuted in 1993 with the SBS drama “Mr. Dinosaur,” has since written works such as “Tomato,” “Mister Q,” “A Bright Girl’s Success Story,” “Rooftop Prince,” etc.