Management agency Star Empire has been accused of copying the concept of girl group Nine Muses‘ latest jacket photos.

Following the release of the jacket photos on January 14, netizens have taken to various online discussion boards to point out similarities between the concept of Nine Muses’ upcoming comeback and a spread in fashion magazine W Korea.

Published in 2012, the fashion spread features top models wearing pastel-colored, bob style wigs and posing in a pastel-toned room. The concept for Nine Muses’ photo shoot is strikingly similar, as the members are seen laying on top of pastel-colored fabrics and wearing wigs that are almost identical to the ones in the magazine, raising questions about the originality of the concept.

In response to the accusations, Star Empire has explained that the jacket photos are indeed a homage to W Korea’s photo shoot, and that they have already been in touch with the magazine regarding the issue.

“The jacket photos of Nine Muses’ new album are a homage to the fashion spread seen in W Korea. It is not an infringement of copyright. Even before shooting the photos, we made sure that there were no problems [with the homage to the concept],” a representative of the agency explained to OSEN on January 15.

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