Composer Of KNK Track Addresses Concerns That It Plagiarized A BTOB Song

Recently, a b-side track from KNK’s second mini album “Remain” has fallen under suspicion of plagiarizing one of BTOB’s tracks.

Kim Tae Ju, the composer of the KNK track “I Know,” quickly addressed the concerns and stated that while it was careless on his part to not check if his melody sounded too similar to another pre-existing song, he asserted that he did not plagiarize the BTOB track “I’ll Be Here.” He also apologized to all the fans of KNK and BTOB for causing an issue.

His full statement reads:

“I am uploading this post in order to personally try and explain the suspicions that are being brought up about how the chorus in “I Know,” a track included in KNK’s second mini album, which was released yesterday [November 18], is similar to the chorus in BTOB’s 2015 track “I’ll Be Here.” I checked up on the BTOB song in question. I confirmed that the first two measures or so of the melody at the start of the chorus are indeed similar, and I believe it was due to my own carelessness that I did not perceive this before [the track was released]. I personally contacted and apologized to BTOB’s Im Hyunsik, who is the composer of the track involved in this issue, “I’ll Be Here.” I want to state that it was not plagiarized, and I want to apologize to all the fans and people who love KNK and BTOB’s music, who became worried due to my own irresponsible actions of not checking more carefully as the composer. Moving forward, I will become more cautious when composing and I will strive to become an even more hardworking composer.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BM581XMBFN-/

Take a listen to both songs below and let us know your thoughts on this subject. Do you think the choruses are too similar to the point it could be considered plagiarism?