"It's not true that we had a prior agreement with the photographer or that we had a discussion about copyright issues... It's true that we referred to the cover of 'W Korea's March 2012 by photographer Hong Jang Hyun during production for the Nine Muses' jacket image that has caused controversy. We truly apologize to 'W Korea' and photographer Hong Jang Hyun for not coming to an agreement beforehand, and we're deeply sorry for causing confusion."

apologized to photographerand '' magazine for the similarities between the magazine's pictorial and Nine Muses ' concept for their upcoming album, ''.[SEEALSO]http://www.allkpop.com/article/2015/01/w-korea-reveals-star-empire-never-contacted-them-regarding-nine-muses-controversial-teaser-images[/SEEALSO]The agency initially denied it , and 'W Korea' then stated that there was no discussion and agreement for the right to use the concept between the two parties. In response, Star Empire stated on January 16:What do you think of all this "Drama"?