MBC headquarters in Shanghai has taken legal action against a Chinese production company for unpaid profits and use of “The King Of Mask Singer” without permission.

On September 18, a source from MBC revealed that MBC Shanghai is suing Shanghai Canxing Cultural and Broadcast Company, the Chinese production company behind the Chinese version of “The King of Mask Singer.”

After signing a contract with MBC in May 2015, Shanghai Canxing Cultural and Broadcast Company began airing “The King of Mask Singer” on Jiangsu Television in July of the same year. Although the contract requires the Chinese network to pay profits from the show to MBC, Shanghai Canxing Cultural and Broadcast Company delayed the payments stating that remittance was not possible due to the THAAD dispute between the two countries which erupted in 2016.

According to MBC, Shanghai Canxing Cultural and Broadcast Company has not made payments by arguing that its version is an original program after making some revisions to the format and title.

There have been many cases where Chinese networks have copied Korean TV programs over the years, and this phenomenon worsened after the 2016 THAAD controversy. Korean companies have been reluctant to actively protest against this in fear of possible retaliation, making MBC Shanghai’s response to this issue highly unusual.

MBC Shanghai Branch Manager Kim Hyun Chul said, “We’re currently in a time in which the security and protection of IP [intellectual property] has become an important issue all around the world. It is imperative to make efforts to boldly correct problematic issues like this for the future of the ecosystem of Hallyu and global content.”

You can watch the Korean version of “The King of Mask Singer” below:

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