G-Dragon and YG's Yang Hyun-suk Cleared in Copyright Case

Singer G-Dragon and Yang Hyun-suk, executive producer of YG Entertainment, have been cleared of copyright infringement allegations and charges. Seoul's Mapo Police Station decided in April not to refer the case to prosecutors, citing insufficient grounds for the allegations, police said on Oct. 7.

A composer identified only as A filed the complaint against the two in November 2024. The composer claimed that a song he wrote, titled "G-DRAGON," was performed at G-Dragon's solo concert in 2009 without his permission and it later appeared on the live album released the following year under the title, "I'm 13 Years Old."

YG Entertainment said at the time that the issue came from a setlist mix-up during the 2009 solo show, where two songs with the same title, the composer's "G-Dragon" and a track by producer Perry also called "G-Dragon," were listed as "I'm 13 Years Old" and "G-Dragon." The company said there was no unauthorized reproduction of the recording.

Police took statements from those involved in the case and conducted two search-and-seizure operations at YG Entertainment's headquarters as part of the investigation. After reviewing the evidence and statements, they concluded that the allegations could not be substantiated and closed the case.