Singer Heo Gak and popular artists including Red Velvet have suffered from unauthorized use of their portrait rights.
On the 12th, a media outlet reported that an event company had used the photos and names of several artists, including Red Velvet, Sung Si-kyung, and Young Tak, without permission in the 'celebrity congratulatory performance' section of their website.
According to the report, the list of potential artists for congratulatory performances included profile photos of dozens of singers, and notably, Heo Gak was made to look like a promotional model with phrases such as 'congratulatory performance guaranteed by Heo Gak.'
However, it has been revealed that most of the singers have no affiliation with the company.
Red Velvet's agency, SM Entertainment, stated regarding this matter that "the company is unrelated, and there was no prior agreement or permission granted. Immediately upon confirming the unauthorized use of portraits, we requested deletion, and if similar cases recur, we will respond strongly."
Heo Gak's agency, OS Entertainment, also stated that "currently we have no relation with that company. It is true that Heo Gak was friends with them long ago, but we have not been in touch frequently due to various issues."
In response, the company expressed its grievance, stating, "It was an error that occurred during the website renewal process a few weeks ago," and added, "we have since taken down all the photos."
[Photo] SM Entertainment, OSEN DB
[OSEN]